


A is for Affection, but it’s also the Grade I Need to Pass

by Nomad_Dash



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, i googled physics garbage to be accurate and it hurted my head
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2019-08-21 00:32:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 86,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16566164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomad_Dash/pseuds/Nomad_Dash
Summary: After multiple suggestions from his friends, the email from his physics teacher finally pushed him to visiting his adviser. Slowly his grade in that class has started to drop and the professor was beginning to grow concerned for him and his future. The gentle professor questioned him if his archery practices and “what nots” were distracting him from comprehending the material they were covering, but in reality he had no idea what was going on from day one.A tutor should help him... right?





	1. All

**Author's Note:**

> listen I know I KNOW College AU is probably overdone especially with jock takumi and nerd leo, but you know what this is my take on it so its fine. This ship just needs a good ol fluffy trip and I'm gonna try to provide. My inspiration was not aaaassss strong as it was for Try Once More so it might seem a little different, but I’ll still probably fix things up along the way as well here like I am for the other fic. Also I'm sorry I am Not Creative™️ with last names I had no idea what to use so whatever I guess. Probably OOC cause Peppy Takumi and Awkward Leo is life im sorry i dont make the rules

With a subtle pout he tapped his foot impatiently to the sound of the clock loudly ticking away at the passing seconds. Come on now, this was the twenty first century, why couldn’t this office have quieter, more straight forward digital clocks? He didn’t want to think when looking at the time he just wanted the information _right now_. Somehow he managed to stop himself from puffing his annoyance out loud and cause the worker to look up to stare at him, but it was only barely. Alright, maybe picking a fight with a clock was a little stupid, but he felt his actions were rather justified and therefore it actually was alright to get mad at inanimate objects. He didn’t want to be here- he didn’t want to have this talk- and he especially didn’t want to face the consequences that would happen after he suffered through the previously mentioned talk. Overall, it was a very unlikable situation for him to be in.

At the moment Takumi was left in the adviser's office for his division; alone with the secretary as he waited for the man to finish up with the student before him. After multiple suggestions from his friends, the email from his physics teacher finally pushed him to visiting his adviser. Slowly his grade in that class has started to drop and the professor was beginning to grow concerned for him and his future. The gentle professor questioned him if his archery practices and “what nots” were distracting him from comprehending the material they were covering, but in reality he had no idea what was going on from day one. Not that he was going to admit that to anyone much less the professor since he knew it was something he should of said from the beginning. At first Takumi managed to get by with simply looking up the questions and getting the answers there, but slowly that was becoming less and less of an option by the day. He somehow still managed to make due with a grade border lining between a “B” and a “C”, but after the last few tests that grade percentage dropped down into concerning levels of if he was wasting his money on taking this class or not.

So after kind suggestion that basically told him to do it anyway because he said so, his professor sent him to see his adviser on what to do next.

There was no way he could talk to his family, he was sure his mother would be supportive of him taking the initiative to try and fix his grade, but he was not about to let his siblings know he was failing something. Which was why he was texting his friend Oboro his complaints about how he didn’t want to do this. Besides, there was one thing she should be able to easily do that his siblings currently couldn’t.

_[14:36]Me: I changed my mind lets go get lunch_  

_[14:37]Oboro: Stop looking for ways out of this and be responsible._

_[14:37]Me: So I was thinking sushi thoughts?_

_[14:38]Oboro: I s2g you better stay in that office._

_[14:38]Oboro: We can go later and you’re paying._

_[14:40]Me: …I changed my mind I don’t want to get food…_

_[14:40]Oboro: Rude._

_[14:40]Me: Hinata would save me_

_[14:41]Oboro: Well you didn’t text Hinata now did you._

_[14:41]Oboro: Wait did you???_

_[14:41]Oboro: Don’t do that he's in class and gets distracted easily!_

_[14:42]Oboro: If he saved you I’m bringing you BOTH to the advisers office myself and we’re sitting down like it’s a parent-teacher conference!_

Sadly Takumi wasn’t able to retort something back about how that was going way too far than either of them needed and she didn’t need to worry over something like that because he no longer had the time to do so. The door opened and a student walked out looking at a few papers in her hands, behind her resting against the door frame was the adviser who turned his gentle smile towards him. Letting out a small sigh in a weak form of accepting his fate, he stood up from his seat and pocketed his phone to complete the short walk from the chair outside to the confines of the office. The man was waiting for him to step inside before he started to make his way to his seat behind the desk, easy smile on his face as his clasped his hands together to rest against the dark wood. Any sort of hello stayed stuck in Takumi’s throat as he sat down in one of the open seats. Since a simple hello wasn’t going to come out, he was not about to be the one to start conversation. 

“Hello Takumi,” He was greeted with after double checking the name to make sure he was in front of the right student, “it seems you were brought here today due to unfavorable circumstance.” He finished with a thoughtful hum. 

Still entirely against the meeting, the student only gave a shrug and a muttered “I guess.” as he found the decor something better to look at. The picture of the adviser and his presumed wife holding a child was far more interesting than the real man right in front of him. The lack of eye contact didn't seem to be of a concern though, being that he was probably use to it at this rate, as the older man continued on.

“Physics was never my strong suit either if I'm being honest. I knew it was a wasteful topic for me to study with what I wanted to do with my life.” 

Takumi looked over at that- so maybe he understood his struggle and would help him out. Also should an adviser actually go around calling a certain subject wasteful? Sure, if he looked deep enough into it, maybe he could see how physics applied to archery, but Takumi didn't need that. He knew was he was doing by sheer repetitive practice alone. Maybe this councilor had his side and would help him out off that dreaded hell class as unlikely as that possibility was. It was the option he would of loved though.

“At the least, with the program you're in, you'll be able to take easier science classes and still earn the same amount of credits, or is it the math part of the course that's troubling you?” 

Takumi gave a nod of his head. If he was in something like Biology or Zoology he would be doing much better. He loved those sort of classes he could experiment and learn hands on in when he was in high school, so by that logic he should here too right? Math was never his best subject to begin with either, but he could get by fairly well and has been. It was only now and in this class he was starting to struggle with all the formulas and numbers. He should of never listened to Hinoka when she said that the class was easy when she was in this college and took it with the same professor. After the response a small frown appeared on the adviser's face. 

With that news given to him the adviser went to work on his monitors to see what he could do. Takumi kept his pledge of silence as he watched the other man work. He didn’t bother trying to peek and see what he was looking at even though he did have a good view of the screens since now he found a picture of a live goose in an opened dishwasher way more interesting. How did he miss that before? It was way more intriguing than the dumb baby and wife image. Surly the goose was alright, but if it was in an empty dishwasher in some house surely it was a pet and well taken care of. He might of asked about it if he didn’t vow silence unless prompted, but the other man ended up speaking first anyway. “Well, would you like the good news first or the bad?” 

Takumi faced him full on now, a bit curious and worried if it was too late for him and he ruined his archery career all because he didn't know basic physics. Maybe the good was better than the bad news which was the only positive thing he was looking at. Maybe hearing it first would also lesson the blow of the bad? He hoped so, he wanted to fix this problem on his own as much as he physically could. Telling his parents that he failed a class already was not the route he was looking to take nor was he going to if he had a say in the matter.

“Good… news?” He tried, hoping all his luck would come forth and he wouldn't have to do something drastic like retake the class- he was just thinking of the worst there, he didn't _really_ want to do so. He didn't want to go through all that suffering again. It sounded like torture. It already was cruel and unusual punishment.  

“Well the bad news,” The man started, making Takumi straighten a bit in his seat and crease his brows together. Either the man heard him ask for the bad news first or just didn't care about his request, making him decide to say either what he wanted to give or what was more important first anyway, “is that it's too late to drop the class and get a refund, not to mention that it would put you behind in your credits and you’re at risk of losing your scholarship if that happened, but the good news is that you can easily get a tutor.” 

At least it didn't sound like he already ruined everything, but he had a feeling he was getting close to the point already being on the track. There was a problem though. He didn't really _want_ a tutor either; didn't want to admit defeat in such a way, but mostly for one other big thing. “Don't those cost money?” Surely he would have to pay for their services, or at least he heard his roommate Hinata talking about having to pay for his English tutor so it was only natural to think the same would apply to him. His classes already cost so much and that doesn't factor other college expenses he had to still pay off.  

“That’s where the really good news comes in.” His adviser chirps up, tilting his head to the side for a moment before he turns to start tapping away on his computer. “We have a program that gives those in the education department a chance to teach others as a credit course. So you'll be helping a student get the experience they need and get the tutoring you need- two birds one stone if you will. And it will cost you nothing!” 

That was definitely the best part of it and it made him feel a bit better about getting the tutor. If he had to admit defeat in such a way at least it would be free on his part. 

“Then I suppose that's my only option?”  He said in a questioning tone to try to prompt the chance of more options just in case. He wanted to cover as much ground as he could with different opportunities, but the tone seemed to be ignored in favor for the content. 

“Oh wonderful. Shall we find one for you together?” 

Hearing that question causes Takumi to become stiff in his shoulders from where he sat. He really didn't want to spend any more time here than he already has- he's been ready to leave ever since that clock started to annoying him with it’s ticking that sounded like it was begging to be punched in its face. 

“No, I think It’ll be best for me to look on my own, thank you.” Thankfully the reasoning was accepted with a small hum, but he wasn't allowed to leave just at the moment much to his dismay. The adviser told him to wait for just a minute as he grabbed a pen and a scrap piece of paper. The man wrote something down in neat cursive before handing it over to the student.

“Here is the name of program for you to look at on the school site. It should list what tutors are available for what subject. I don't know who's all available for physics in particular since it's not my branch, but I’m positive you'll be able to find someone that works well for you.” 

The paper was accepted with a small thanks as he looked over the writing, glad that it was legible. He suffered through professors having garbage writing too many times so at least that trait didn’t seem to apply with this college employee too. After being asked if there were any questions, comments, or concerns and denying that there wasn't, Takumi was finally allowed to leave. Without a second thought he did so with another small thanks for the help and a returned goodbye. A sigh of relief left him once he was able to walk out the office to start heading back to his dorm. Sadly it looked like training his archery would have to wait for a bit if it even happened at all today, but since he wanted to get this over with already it was a small sacrifice he was willing to make. He’ll be sure to double up on his training tomorrow to make up for today though. Besides, tutors might be limited, he wanted to be able to get one and at least make an effort of fixing his grade instead of suffering with trying to study himself since that obviously wasn’t working. Hopefully it wouldn't take long, a good practice session with his bow would really calm his nerves and worries since that was something he was good at unlike worthless physics. Sadly though he already told himself it would have to come after securing a tutor. 

Another one of those college expenses was his dorm, but it was on campus as his parents’ home was far away so it did have its benefits. The walk back to his dorm was uneventful minus almost running into someone since he was too busy looking down at the paper containing the program name once more in thought. He apologized to the blond, but he didn’t get a response as the person kept power walking along. Must be in a rush, even if apologizing did take a total of two seconds out of a person's life, but he digressed. At least he didn’t lose the paper even if it wasn’t a literal run in, but it was still placed in the student’s pocket folded up just to make sure it would remain safe. Instead his hand acquired a hold on his dorm key once he was starting up the stairs in the correct building. Hinata should be out of class and inside at the moment unless something caught his presence, but part of him hoped he was inside so he could ask for advice. Now that he was stuck in this predicament of needing a tutor, maybe someone who had one would help him know what to look for.

As soon as he opened the door he could hear the faint sound of music which was actually very concerning. Hinata was the type of person to listen to music through earbuds whenever he sat down to study or work and Takumi could already hear it from where he stood inside the doorway. Of course jamming out to such an intense bop, the brown haired student wasn’t aware that his roommate was back. Takumi was a caring person and would prefer it if his friend had ears so he made his way over to tap on his shoulder. Unsurprisingly, Hinata jumped from the sudden scare, but as soon as he pulled his earbuds out and looked up to see who it was, his face broke out into a big smile. 

“Hey Takumi! How were classes today?”

“If I answer would you actually be able to hear me?”

With a confused pout and a tilt of his head Hinata responded. “What do you mean?”

“I could hear your music as soon as I entered.”

Hearing these complaints before from both his best friend and girlfriend multiple times only caused him to laugh. “This song is so good though! Wanna listen?” With the song still playing, Hinata gathered up his earbuds to offer to Takumi only to have them denied. 

“Maybe later and at a lower volume, right now I need a favor from you if you don’t mind.”

“Really? Of course I don’t mind!” Hinata asked as he started to move over on his bed to give Takumi more space once he realized he was going to sit. His friend was never one to ask for help since he was one of the most prideful persons he knew unless it was something small, but small was nothing like a favor he was currently being asked for. School was not something small, but he was able to see that was what the problem was going to be about once he noted the silver haired man was pulling his laptop out of his book bag. The laptop wasn’t opened just yet though as he reached into his pocket to pull out a piece of paper. 

“Have you heard of this thing?” Takumi asked as he handed Hinata the note, letting him take it first before he opened his laptop to start pulling up the school website. The younger student took a moment to read over the contents of the paper before perking up.

“Oh yeah! I was going to use this program for my tutor.” 

“What do you mean by was?” 

“Yeah, sadly there weren’t any available that could work into my schedule. I like my tutor, but it would of saved me some nice moneys.” 

Even though the experience with this program in particular would of been the best, he’ll take what he could get. After a small sigh Takumi finally admitted his problem. 

“I’m looking for a Physics tutor and don’t know what to look for. Isn’t there a certain teaching style I should be looking for to help me out the most? A five star rating?”

Another laugh left his friend. “They’re not going to give ratings with this program since they’re learning too. Learning style would be a great place to start though. Do you know what yours is?”

“Make the class easy?” 

“That's not what I mean. Like are you more of an audible learner or visual?” 

“My teacher does both yet here I am so...” 

Hearing the grumpy tone from his friend made him go for a different approach. “Let’s just see what kinda physics tutors there are and read their bio instead?” The frown stayed on Takumi’s lips and he was probably thinking something along the lines about how he shouldn’t be chided like that, but he managed to keep those thoughts to themselves. The program web page was easy enough to navigate, but after clicking the link that had the physics tutors there was a small problem.

“There's only one kid.” Takumi deadpanned.

“I’m not sure how much of a kid he is. He’s in the same year as you it seems.” 

A scoff. 

“Click on him, let's read what he's about?” At least it was done without any sort of snarky comment or snit. Together they skimmed through the short bio explaining what the tutor was about, what sort of subject they are able to help with, what schedule they had with what spots were available. Takumi didn’t get much of an impression from the blond male minus that he seemed like a huge nerd- err- wicked smart with the five different subjects he could help in. He was also left wondering if the black headband was actually doing anything. Normally people wore one to keep hair back, all his seemed to do is rest on his head like a bland tiare and bump up one strand over the what he assumed plastic. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was an intentional stylistic choice or some weird way to bring attention to a wannabe ahoge. Now that he thought about it, a makeshift tiara really fit the man’s image based on first impressions. The way he held his head with his nose upturned and squared his shoulders in his profile picture really put forth a sense of nobility. The lack of smile made him wonder if the kid actually wanted to be a tutor or if he was forced to do so to get the credit just like him with physics. Even though he was the only option, maybe he wasn’t the best choice. 

“Leon Krakenburg… Leo for short… hey, hey this kid is in my English class!” Hinata perked up once he finished reading and everything clicked into place many moments after Takumi was done with the biography. 

“Really? What’s he like?” Maybe he had more of a personality than his picture lead him to believe.

“Keeps to himself, honestly. I think the only time I’ve seen him talk to someone that isn't our teacher is when a kid next to him has a question. Seems nice since the person doesn’t look offended.” He chuckled at that as if he told a small joke. “Really smart though. I’ve managed to sneak a peek at his report on the last essay we did and he aced it while everyone else complained about get “C’s” and “D’s!” Hinata was lucky enough to get a “C-” which was proof that the tutor was helping tremendously.

“So he should be able to help me then.” Takumi concluded, moving on to now look over to see what spots were open for him to get this sort of help. His roomate agreeing again helped push him into deciding he might as well take the opportunity while it was out here and available to him. Getting this sort of tutor was free, retaking the class was not after all. It took a moment to decide between two different times, but he finally found one to his liking that should work out perfectly with his schedule. Two times a week, Tuesday and Thursday at 4:30 PM. Finding where to put in the request took a bit of maneuvering, but with Hinata looking and acting like another pair of eyes to search for the form he finally managed to submit one in. With a sigh of relief that that was over with, the web site was closed out and the laptop was pushed shut. 

“Hey at least you won’t have to worry about cancellation fees either if it doesn’t work out.” His friend offered in another attempt to ease him. He had to admit, saving money there too was also a nice thought. The tutor not working out really was the worse case scenario, but at least he wouldn’t be extra in the hole paying for that since if he didn’t get helped he would definitely have to pay for this class again. “Now listen to this song!” He exclaimed to change the subject at hand since he knew Takumi still wasn’t a fan of it back to what they were originally talking about. Still the silver haired student was weary of the headphones.

“Did you turn it down?” There was no way he was going to put those things in his ears if there was a chance the song was still at full blast. 

“Its at half volume just like you two like it, even though you won’t be able to hear the bass the right way.” He mumbled the last part as he dropped the recently cleaned earbuds into one of Takumi’s opened hands. 

“And what, exactly, is the right way?” He asked with a roll of his eyes, already knowing the answer as he placed the buds in his ears after checking which went in the right and which left because yes it does matter. Once they were settled, he placed his laptop back in his bag and tossed it to his side of the room to land on his bed. Thankfully it landed safely with a soft thump, but he had no doubt that it would do otherwise. 

“Loud!”

“No!”

“Ugh, whatever, just close your eyes and listen already.” Giving no chance to retort back the song started to play the opening rifts, but he didn’t mind as he had nothing to say back to that anyway. After a shuffle to get more comfortable, Takumi was now leaning against the wall and opted to stare out the window instead of closing his eyes. Hinata didn’t care though since he was listening and that was what he wanted, but it wasn’t like he was looking to make sure he was enjoying the music since he went right back to flipping through a book writing needed information on sticky notes. As loud as Hinata was, he was glad he allowed him these moments of silence even if there was music in his ears. There was only so much socialization Takumi was able to do in a day and Hinata was kind enough to respect that even though he was a social butterfly always ready to converse. Even if he wasn’t sharing new music he found, sometimes he would go mute just to allow Takumi some peace and quiet even though he knew his brown haired friend wanted to do nothing more than talk about everything under the sun. He really did appreciate the friend he had in Hinata.

Given this moment of silence allowed him to think over more about his (hopefully, if he gets accepted) new tutor. A response should come back in a day or two at most and he hoped he got approved- he didn’t have any more free options if he didn’t and he was proving he was an independent adult at the moment. His job just covered what his scholarships and grants didn’t which was another thing he had to worry about. If he failed physics he could lose those too and the reality of that was starting to come to him. At the least he managed to hold off any panic for now. This tutor should be able to help him which will make him fix his grade which would therefore help him keep everything he’s worked hard for.

Even though he did sort of judge this Leo person’s appearance, he did hope he got along with him well enough. His picture was posed like that to make him seem professional, he reasoned, but by Hinata’s description he seemed nice enough. Maybe not the most social person out there, but neither was he so it should be fine since it sounded like he did have a sense of common manners. Sometimes Takumi couldn’t be bothered being in a big social crowd either so he could understand. If there was one thing he could ask for, he hoped this guy had patience since he would begrudgingly admit that he did have a stubborn streak- but that was only because his siblings and friends would bring it up every now and then to make him admit it. He would try to keep it in check, but it’s not like it was something he could really help.

Even though he wasn’t paying attention to the song completely, he still enjoyed it quite a bit. Hinata hardly listened to anything purely instrumental music, but the lack of vocals helped the song become great background noise to his own thoughts. The best part had to be that he could hear the favored bass perfectly at this normal volume for human ear consumption. The only time Takumi looked away from his scenic view out the window was when the song dipped in volume, but he was able to immediately tell with the jingle that went over the music that the pause was from Hinata getting a text. The song still played as the brown haired boy picked up his phone to see what it was about, but Takumi still pulled the earbuds out in order to let his friend have full control of the device. Seeing his face light up was not hard to miss at all and it told him exactly who the text was from.

“Speaking of you two,” Hinata started, referring to the volume situation again with clarifying who the other person was even though it’s already known, “Oboro just texted me saying how we should all get some food. You alright with sushi?”

“What? That’s what I suggested!” 

“What?”

Takumi pursed his lips for a moment, wondering if he should explain the situation. He realized a moment too late that he basically already did as he kept his sour expression to grumble the truth. “I didn’t want to go to the advisers so I tried to convince her to help me escape.” 

“I would of helped!” He perked up instantly only to soon realized his mistake. “Wait no you needed to go there.”

Once more Takumi rolled his amber eyes. “Oboro would be so proud, but alright, alright let's get some food.”

“Great! Then I’ll be able to show the both of you this song.” He didn't care that his best friend and girlfriend would be sharing earbuds right in front of him, he wasn’t the type to get jealous over something small like that; especially since he would be initiating the gesture.

“Just keep it at a normal volume. I don’t know how she’s forgiven you from the last time you tried to ‘conform us to your ways.’” Takumi mocked as he got up from his spot on the bed to grab the necessary things for going out to eat. 

“Because she loves me! Are you saying you don’t? Have you really not forgiven me yet?” He asked with the expression of a kicked puppy as they started to head out of their dorm to meet up with the third person forming their trio. He couldn’t handle having someone still being upset with him so he knew he had to fix it right away.

“Debatable.” For the most part he was simply teasing his friend, but he would admit he really didn’t appreciate being jump scared like that in a public place when it did happen. It’s been a few days though and he was over it, but he still was going to have some fun in a form of subtle revenge. Hinata happened to take his teasing to heart though and was stuck in deep thought as they made their made down the hall to the elevator. Once they were finally inside the elevator and had the doors shut a conclusion was reached. With a gasp of realization he spoke up.

“What if I buy your food?”

“You’re forgiven then.” He answered without much thought.

He was dumb with physics, not in common sense. Besides, it made Hinata happy that he was forgiven even though he wasn’t that upset with him. He’ll be nice and not get something horribly expensive. It was the least he could do on return for getting free food. Free food did go well with a free tutor after all.

 


	2. You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know if the formatting of the talk suppose to be in text is off! while i usually wait until everything is posted to go over spelling and phrasing things again, formatting is something i wish to fix right away.

Even though class was over, absorbing the content never really was. Leo must remain on top of all his grades in order to prove he was a subtle teacher. He liked learning, it as only natural to want to share that passion with others. Sure he would have to work on his personality a bit more, but he was on the path of getting there even if it was taking a while. Part of him was surprised he was able to get in the tutoring program, even though it shouldn’t of been since his academics were phenomenal, but he worried about how approachable he was. Everything about his life growing up was formal, guarded, and forced to be perfect under his strict father and he knew he needed to be less stiff to be a more likable teacher. Even he enjoyed the more easy going teachers than his more formal ones- he wanted to be just like them. Simple conversation was never that easy for him, even over the smallest of things.

He was too lost in his thoughts to realize he was spoken to until the “sorry” registers a few seconds later. He stopped in his trip of walking back to his car, turning around to see someone walking off in the opposite direction. It had to be that person that spoke to him, but would it be too late to say something now? The distance they were at now would have to make Leo yell and normal people probably don’t overthink something as small as this so much, but normal people would probably be over it at this point. Instead Leo was left staring at the person’s back, watching their silver blond ponytail swing lightly with each step. The wayward spikes at the top of the ponytail caught his attention, finding how they defy the laws of gravity amazing and wondered if they were natural. Not only that, his gaze shifted to the person shoulders, assuming male based on how broad they were down to the jacket. A Letterman, most likely was into sports and still are, but he couldn't help but wonder if all that hair got in the way of such activities. Wouldn’t it be better to-

Staring.

He was definitely, blatantly staring at this stranger’s back like a creep. The chance to apologize is and has been long gone.

Thankfully no one else was around to see his pitiful display, but that didn’t stop him from hurrying the rest of the trip to his car to make his way back home. He was able to relax more once he was in the solitude of his car, but the worry still ebbed at the back of his mind. He’ll be fine, this was what this tutor program was about. Socializing; picking up cues from strangers and what not.

Even though he still hasn’t gotten someone to tutor yet.

He was being too hard on himself, part of him was aware of, he’s been in this program for only a few weeks and he has a busy schedule himself, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous hearing one of the more popular students brag how she got a student of her own only after a day. Whatever, he knew it was because of a combination of her personality, her body, and her breasts -and yes that did needed to be deliberately listed with how she flaunts them, but more power to her he supposed- which Leo couldn’t see the appeal in at all. Sure he wasn’t the right audience for two of those three things, but he couldn’t help but want that same sense of early accomplishment. The thought were shaken off on the drive to his apartment since he wasn’t going to promote distracted driving. At stop lights and signs the thoughts would come back, but only for a brief moment before he had to drive forth once again.

It wasn’t surprising coming home to an empty apartment since he knew his two other roommates schedule at the moment- or at least to an extent. Odin preferred later classes instead of the morning ones so he was just starting his day of learning and Niles sort of did whatever he wanted. Whatever, as long as he helped kept the apartment clean, didn’t bring any of his mess here, and paid his rent he could do whatever he pleased. Anytime Leo thought he figured out his schedule, something would change it up so he simply gave up at some point. At least he kept in good contact and responded quickly so there was never a worry he was taken off somewhere. Leo didn’t completely like the crowd he was occasionally seen with.

Being home alone at the moment Leo decided to do some cleaning himself. There wasn’t much to do since he did make sure all three of them stayed on top of such responsibilities, but there were still little things he could do like take out the trash, straighten up the few movies they took out from the last night’s movie night, and clean the few dishes left in the sink from that morning. Since he had a bit of a rough moment coming back from the campus intensely staring at a random student’s back for an uncomfortable amount of time, he figured he would have some peaceful time to himself and read instead of studying.

He didn’t have as big as a collection here as he did back at his parents home, but he was glad to be out of that place even if he did leave so many books behind. He still had contact with his siblings and that was all that place offered that he really cared for anymore. With that in mind he picked up a book he hasn’t read in a while to see if he still liked it to read for the day. If he didn’t, he would replace it with a newer one. Sadly he didn’t have the space to keep both, but there really wasn’t a need to keep a book he didn’t care for anymore.

Taking advantage of the empty apartment, Leo took his book to the living room to enjoy on the couch. As he was making his way over, he had a better idea and ended up grabbing a small snack of some chips to enjoy it with. He’d have to be careful of not getting any food on the pages, but he normally was so it should be fine. He needed to keep this book in good condition if he were to sell it to replace after all.

The silence of the room was enjoyed for a few hours until there was a small buzz coming from his phone still left in his pocket. He didn’t think too much of it, figuring it could either be one of three things: One of his roommates, one of his professors, or one of his siblings. He thought about ignoring it for now until he finished the chapter, but since that was still a few more pages and it might be important he decided to look at it anyway.

He only had to skim the first line before being ecstatic he was home alone since his reaction would be most embarrassing in front of a crowd. The blond stood up from his spot on the couch, book fluttering out of his lap onto the floor yet he couldn’t care about his spot lost since he explained “Really?!” to himself. He didn’t know what to do at the moment, taking a complete 180 and now wishing that one of his roommates were here so he could ask them what he should do, but he couldn’t do that at the moment. Right now he had to take a walking lap around the apartment with his phone resting on the coffee table as he processed just what happened. With another lap around for good luck, he finally composed himself enough to sit down and read the actual email instead of the just the short preview of the notification while his phone was still locked.

It was an automated message from his division telling him that someone requested him for tutoring, not just any of the subjects he offered but in Physics- that’s his best one! This should be easy. Well, the teaching part would be easy, being approachable was another thing. Another thing he suddenly remembered was that he would have to respond to the student that he’ll be glad to teach them and all these other things. That was the part he was struggling with. What does he say? He needed help. After a moment of thought he decided to open the messenger app he and his roommates were in and start asking his question.

_Shtlord: Guys, I need help._

_Who… Who changed the names in the discord again..._

_xXxDEATHxXx: whomst_

_slut: idk lol_

At the least Leo was able to tell who was who was who based on the typing patterns in the messages- as if the new names weren’t a big enough hint already. He wasn’t sure how Odin thought up new things to name them all in their little chat, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about that at the moment. Even with all the new nicknames Odin and occasionally Niles implemented, he wasn’t going to rain on their parade. Sure sometimes he would be miffed at what they thought of him, but as long as it wasn’t blatantly derogatory he didn’t see the need to honestly complain.

_slut: btw i think i need some more respect than this smh my head_

_Shtlord: And why is my name censored? It is obvious what you’re going for._  

_xXxDEATHxXx: so you no get mad ;w;_

_Omw to pay u f_

  _Dr. Slut: thank_

_nyway, whats troubling u bby?_

Leo has long since given up on trying to Niles to stop calling him these nicknames so casually. He believed they should be saved for someone special, but he supposed there was a reason that… that was his new nickname in the group chat.

_Shtlord: Do you recall the tutoring program I signed up to be apart of?_

_Dr. Slut: ye_

_xXxDEATHxXx: yeet_

_Shtlord: Someone would like me to tutor them and I… I honestly have no idea what to message them._

_Dr. Slut: well r u goin to accept?_

_Shtlord: Of course._

_xXxDEATHxXx: BEE THYSELF_

_Dr. Slut: ew no lol_

_just treat it like a job interview or smthin_

_b like hey waddup thanks for choosin my shit_

_see u choose these times which is lit_

_we can meet at a neutral location like the library or smthn_

_tell em what they need_

_n if they cute make sure you sneak me a pic ;)_

  _xXxDEATHxXx: yea THAT but like………….. More fancy man_

_Also if they forgot their stuff make sure you have yours on you!_

  _Dr. Slut: for all u know the nerds as much as a wreck as u are so dont overthink it_

 A sigh left Leo as he looked over the messages again. He really was over thinking it, wasn’t he? He was raised with the ideal of perfection so of course he wanted this to be perfect as well.

_Shtlord: Thank you. You guys make it sound so easy._

  _xXxDEATHxXx: b sure to tell us how it goes!_

  _Shtlord: You make it sound like I have date instead of a lesson._

  _Dr. Slut: maybe it will b a date ;)))))_

Leo wasn’t sure if he was talking about the emails or the actual session, but he wasn’t going to ask for some form of clarification. His only response to the two was a small chuckle and a shake of his head before he put down his phone. He was very picky in his romantic partners, he doubted he’ll form any feelings for this stranger and it was very unlikely they’ll find his bland, blond self interesting in that way too. It wasn’t the point of the program anyway. Right now he had an email to write out. Once more he skimmed over the script, finding the student’s email so he could send them a response. The name didn’t sound familiar to him so he didn’t think too much about that- what he did ponder over however was how to type this thing out. He constantly thought about the advice Docto- No it was Niles- gave him along with Odin’s encouragements, but it still took a few starts and stops which lead him to rewrite the email a few times. He found it best to not send everything in one go and instead break it up a bit. It seemed like a safe start to him at the least.

The first email sent contained what he hoped was a kind and not forced greeting turned introduction before giving the library as a suggested meeting ground for them to get started. He read and reread the email multiple times to make sure it was free of flaws before rereading the advice given to him by his friend. With a deep breath he pressed send and hoped for the best. Of course he didn’t expect a response right away, but he still ended up growing nervous as time started to pass and he heard nothing back. About thirty minutes into the waiting game he once again asked his friends if that was normal, but they quickly eased his worries saying that people can get busy. This person asked for Leo’s help, they weren't going to turn around and ignore him right after putting in the request. So even though he wanted to sit and stare at his phone for the response -he was too busy staring at it to even think about getting a bigger screen with his laptop- he decided to lock his phone, rest the device on the coffee table again, and finally pick up his once forgotten book to at least finish the chapter.

The book wasn’t as interesting anymore, but he still was going to read through the whole thing to make sure it was something to keep. Some had slower starts than others, there was no need to toss it before any good parts started to kick in. The new chapter was marked with a bookmark before he got off the couch to place it back in its spot on his mini bookshelf. For the most part he’s calmed down from the excitement of getting someone to teach and had completely forgotten about the small predicament of rudely staring form before. Leo was sure that if he got a response the fluttery feeling would come back, but right now his email was still mute. Any sort of message he received was wither from Niles or Odin in the group chat which was ignored since they were talking about something random in favor for studying.

He was still in the middle of writing down notes when Niles was the first to come home. It was uncommon that it he arrived back before Odin, but lately it had been happening often enough for Leo to no longer he surprised. Seeing the blond on the couch, Niles dropped his bag in the doorway and made his way over, ignoring any given hello to lean over the couch with an arm over Leo’s shoulders.

“So, did your pupil respond to you yet?”

Just like the nicknames, Leo has gotten use to his friend’s skinship preference and allowed the touch. It was hard not to get use to it since whenever they did have their usual movie nights, Niles would lounge across both Leo’s and Odin’s lap as he watched what was being played. At least, for the most part he knew how to respect boundaries.The arm was removed from his shoulders as he leaned forward to check his phone. He hasn’t heard it go off once more, but there was a possibility that he missed the notification. Together they looked at dark night wallpaper which only had the notification that xXxDEATHxXx sent an image in the chat.

“Oh that's too bad.” Niles hummed as he went about playing with a strand of Leo’s hair. The piece that jutted above his headband was always amusing to play with. He’s still waiting for permission to use some of Odin’s styling gel to get it to stick up right. The request was pending. “Well, they could be busy. As long as they respond back before the first meet up you should be fine.”

“And if they don’t?” Leo didn’t realize he started to frown once he saw he only had a message from Odin. Didn’t this student know he was excited? They shouldn’t leave him on read like this if the email was even looked at yet. The question was asked as he tilted his head up forwards his friend, the hair he was playing with slipping free from deft fingers.

“Then we’ll worry about that when we get there. A frown doesn’t fit your face, hon.” The hand that was still held up moved to poke Leo in the cheek. There was where boundaries came in. Leo groaned and swatted his hand away, turning his head back to look at his phone as Niles gave a light chuckle. “By the way, when is the first lesson?” Hearing how long this person had to respond could help him ease some more worries the blond had. He didn’t need to start harping on this stranger for not responding right away if the first lesson was many days away.

“Tuesday at 4:30.”

“See? You have a good few days before worrying over not getting a response.” Niles spoke as he made his way around to sit on the arm of the couch closest to Leo. “You gotta remember, they specifically asked for this service from you, they’re not going to go back on that already. It’s hardly been a couple of hours, you can’t get mad at them for not responding. For all we know, they actually have a life outside of school, you know those things exist right?” The little jab was received with an another annoyed huff as Leo unlocked his phone to find the email once again. Seeing him pull it up to most likely read it again made the darker skinned man interested. “Who are you teaching anyway?”

Leo took a moment to respond as he scrolled back up to the top of the email where the other student’s name was listed. “Takumi… Shi… Shira…” Leo trailed off as he tried to pronounce the foreign name. He managed to get through the first name easily enough, but the last name proved to be struggle as he wasn’t use to the dialect of its origins.

“Oh? Its Shirasagi, hmm? Well, even though I see him a bit I’ll still repeat myself with that I need a picture if they’re cute. He sure is~”

“Why do you say that?” He wasn’t going to touch the second part of his sentence, but his friend didn’t seem to mind that it was ignored.

“Because we were on the same archery team before he got promoted to varsity or whatever it’s called.”

“Oh,” Leo started as he went back to looking over the name. At least he found out how it was said. He’ll make sure to remember so he doesn't offend him. That would be a horrible first impression, “what’s he like?”

“Cute.”

“I meant personality wise.”

“Cute.”

“Stop saying that. I’m being serious, Niles.”

“There really isn’t a need to yell at me when I am too, but go off I guess.” He easily waved off the scolding before continuing on, “That guy is easy to rile up- I never have to try all that hard! Really now, he blushes too easily and the pout he puts on is too much for my heart.”

“Then it's such a shame I won't be able to see it since I am _not_ going to do that.” Again, he was here to teach this person, not relentlessly tease him until he was a blushing mess. At the least, he didn’t have the same flirting capabilities as Niles so even if he did try there was no doubt that it would result in a huge disaster. This tutor session was to help him get teaching experience, not work on his “game.”

“A real shame.” Niles mused along before continuing on. “But other than that I know he’s stubborn, takes archery seriously, and doesn’t know when to take a break. He can’t stand me-”

“Unsurprisingly.”

“ -rude to interrupt, by the way- so he might be different than the impression he gives me.”

It was more in line for what he was looking for so he took all that he could get. He interpreted never knowing when to take a break as in hard working which he admired, but he would make sure a break would be included depending on how hard this Takumi struggled with the course. Stubbornness would be a challenge though, but it was one he was looking forward to. He could be the same depending on the situation and butting heads with a student was not a very teacher thing to do. It was exactly the experience he was looking for.

“Anyway, that might be why he’s not responding as quickly as you like. He has a sport he needs to practice, not to mention there’s probably other things.”

After a moment to think it over Leo gave a hum and nodded his head, agreeing that that was probably true and that he was worrying too much over something fairly small. Niles reached out and ruffled his hair while calling him a good boy once he admitted such in person, glad to see his friend trying again not to sweat the small stuff. Leo nagged how he shouldn’t be treated like a child a he readjusted the headband, but that was ignored in favor of asking what they should eat for dinner.

Odin came home sometimes later to the sound of Niles and Leo talking casually in the kitchen, most likely making food although he couldn't see what just yet. He announced his presence happily as he placed both his and Niles shoes to the side while hanging up both their bags on hooks to get them out of the way.

“Hey! What are you guys making? The other blond asked as he stepped into the kitchen. Being that it was his turn to cook that night, Niles was doing most of the work stirring something in a pot while Leo was at a different counter cutting up some cherry tomatoes. “It smells so good; can I try a bite!”

Leo was the one to answer. “It’s a cheesy pasta dish and no, you may not. It isn’t ready yet.” But being the hypocrite that he was, he decided to quality check the tomatoes he was cutting up by popping one into his mouth. Odin wasn’t giving a chance to complain though as he already saw Niles in preparation to help him get what he wished for. With a spoon in his hand the white haired man scooped a piece of macaroni pasta out of the water and made sure it was just the noodle. With there being no boiling liquid in the spoon too he turned to face Odin to make sure he was ready. They squared each other up and adjusted their stances as if they were in a western showdown. Slate blue locked with gray eyes even if he did focus more on the real one instead of the glass eye, but at the moment there was only one thing on his mind.

“Fire!”

Leo quickly turned around to see what was happening behind him, catching Niles flick the spoon up in the air before stopping it in front of him like he firing a weapon. Odin instantly locked onto the piece of pasta flying in the air, watching it come closer to him before pushing himself up on his toes to catch it in his mouth. The two cheered in unison at the successes. Their fun didn’t end even when Leo scolded them to not go out of their way to make messes.

The other blond didn’t linger around in the kitchen after that and instead went about setting up the dinner table for the three of them. They were only able to sit down and eat together at dinner time which was something they all enjoyed. Despite being best friends before even becoming roommates they were only able to hang out at night and occasional weekends depending on how their work schedules were. With everything made they all sat in their respected seats and conversed between bites of food. Talk ranged from how the day treated them, but Leo didn’t find it all that surprising that talk stayed mostly on how he was an official tutor now with a student under him.

There was only so much he could answer being that he still hasn’t gotten a response back, but he knew now not to worry about it all that much about it anymore since Takumi did still have a couple more days until their study session. He wouldn’t get upset unless there wasn’t a reply at all unit the last minute. He’ll even go above and beyond to show he was a patient teacher by not scolding Takumi for not checking his student email. It was heavily recommend to check it at least once a day, surely the other man knew that too.

With everyone feeling full on pasta Odin took it upon himself to do the dishes since he didn’t help out with cooking. It wasn’t a surprise that that was fine for the other two since it was less work for them. The night was drawing closer with Leo heading to his room to study, Odin to his own to play games and Niles leaving once more while saying he’ll be back later tonight. None of them really minded his odd schedule, the white haired man was unusually silent when he wanted to be and could sneak back into their apartment without waking anyone up. With a word to Niles to be safe and goodnight, they all went which way they needed.

Studying didn’t last that long for Leo after he showered and getting ready for bed, but he couldn’t help himself by sitting up in bed to check his email just in case there was a response. After a small moment to look a sigh left him- it really was pathetic how much he was checking- it was like he was waiting on a text from a crush. The student probably did follow the check email once a day rule and already did before getting the acceptance mail.

He was about to put the phone down and go to sleep before an idea struck him. If this student was on the varsity archery team, surly his picture was around on the school site somewhere to promote the range of the athletics department. Leo never visited the athletic side of the site since he never had a need to, causing him to have a struggle as if being on mobile wasn’t already complicating things enough.Really schools need to learn how to make their sites more mobile friendly already. After multiple steps being back tracked he finally discovered what he was looking for and found the full team of the current archers, Niles even included, but he wasn’t able to marvel that or look under the picture to see the students named since he was too focused on the archer in the middle of the group.

The wayward spikes of rose dust colored hair forming into a ponytail lead to a striking portfolio shot. He wondered if the man didn’t completely turn around for the picture to be taken, but seeing the way his head was titled and the way he was eyeing the camera helped him conclude that the pose was intentional. Whether the athlete chose the pose himself or he was instructed by the photographer would forever be a mystery to Leo, but he would have to say the pose put forth a “holier than thou” arrogant energy especially in comparison to the easy going poses of the other archers. The student could probably use the actual bow as a weapon if prompted, but that was currently the least of his worries.

He only saw it once but he could recognized that hair style and unique color anywhere- it must of been the man he almost ran into earlier than today, but maybe just to be sure he should look over him once again, he couldn't help it, he was easy on the eyes with natural sun kissed skin and deep amber eyes. There was nothing wrong appreciating his beauty, yet there was one thing on his mind. Maybe he could ask Niles to pass the apology to him, but it would probably be brushed off if Niles did actually pass the message instead of forgetting. He shook his head, he was over that little mishap already, there was no need to ask for a messenger to give a small sorry, so he let it drop in order to see which one was Takumi.

Skimming through the names he could only recognized one by default and a few sounded familiar, but he didn’t care about that at the moment until he finally came across the name Takumi Shirasagi. He stared at it in a moment of thought, wondering if he lined everybody up correctly and decided to go through the list again just to make sure only to end up with the same results.

Mouth slightly agape Leo stared at the middle man once again, now certain that he was in fact Takumi to really take in his appearance. His posture really did put forth a sense of unbridled pride, but he didn’t let that shake him as he recalled Niles’ description of the athlete. Stubborn, hard working and not knowing when to take a break sure fitted the man he was seeing in front of him, but he happened to remember something he didn't think was important: He blushes easily.

He still was adamant on not finding out if that was true or not -although now seeing this image he felt like he would be at the tip of a nocked arrow if he even tried- but he saw it as maybe it showed more of a personality underneath the vain exterior. Another thing, he’d be able to tell him he was sorry for almost running into him today. Should he do it in the email once he responded?

No, that might seem weird; like he stalked him to find out who he was to give a simple sorry. Besides, it would sound much more sincere in person, not to mention he could play it off as if he noticed he who was at their first meeting.

With a solid plan in mind he made sure his alarm was set before locking his phone, setting it to rest on his bedside table before he closed his eyes to sleep.

 


	3. Need

An annoyed huff.

Really?

Another.

What the fuck.

How does he respond to this?

Trick question, he doesn't- because he didn’t get a response to his email.

Ever since the first day when Leo sent the email, he's been eagerly waiting for some sort of feedback from Takumi if his plan was alright, but there was nothing. Now he was starting to think that this athletic idiot didn't know the rule to check his student email at least once a day because here Leo sat with the only new mail being pointless school news and an update from his English class regarding the newest topic. Even though that later thing was important to know, he could hardly be bothered by it.

The day after someone accepted his tutoring, he honestly forgot to check his own email to hear anything from his pupil. He was busy working on school work since he'd like working ahead to an extent. He didn't want to worry about deadlines, so usually the last day to turn anything in on the online classroom was used to look over his work again to make sure it was perfect. The thought that he was waiting for an update slipped his mind as he tweaked a few minor mistakes in his own work. It was embarrassing how easily he forgot when he was looking so forward to it.

The day after that he was working and with strict policies came not being able to check his phone unless it was a n emergency. When he got off he was too tired to care when he saw nothing from the other student.

But now it was the night before the first session and there was nothing. He stared at his neat inbox with a glare, wondering what was going on to leave him on read like this already. Didn't Takumi know it was very rude?

He thought about sending another email as some sort of reminder what was suppose to happen along with the rest of the information he thought was important to give, but he couldn't, apparently it was far too late into the night to worry about that now. Before this moment Niles told him a wait a little bit longer, Odin told him it wasn't that big of a deal, and he told himself that he still had a bit of time so he should be alright. After that little talk, they distracted him with a fun movie Odin brought home the other day and it worked until the film was over. Now there wasn’t any time left.

A knock at the door was hardly acknowledged as he still kept his glare towards his laptop screen, but he still gave a loud enough “yes?” so whoever wanted his attention would know it was alright to come inside. He heard his door open up to a voice as the visitor let himself inside.

“Shower’s open if you wanna use it.” Even though Leo was allowed the the master bedroom of the apartment, they still couldn’t shower at the same time since they weren’t about to fight for the hot water. “Might want to hurry before Niles jumps in. You know how long he takes.” It really was ridiculous how long that man hogged the bathroom even if he did take a reasonably timed shower. Even though Odin warned his friend about this, all he got was an uninterested hum.

“Something wrong?” Odin questioned as he stepped closer to where the other was sitting at his desk. Normally at that water warning he would jump up to hurry, yet here he was still sitting down. The nth sigh left Leo as he ducked his head away from the email, hands running through his hair as he admitted his problem.

“I don’t know what to do…”

“Aw, don’t be dramatic, buddy. What’s the problem anyway?” He asked as he squatted down right beside him, taking a look at his laptop since it seemed to be the origin of his troubles. It took a bit of skimming before things clicked into place with a soft drawn out “oh.”

“Do I send another email? Is it too late?” He thought it was, but maybe someone would tell him it wasn’t and everything would be alright.

“I mean, probably.”

Of course nothing would go his way.

Not the response he wanted to hear if the groan was anything to go off of.

“I could never imagined things would already be this complicated...”

Odin was never the best at this advice thing, that was normally Niles’ job; what he was good at was being a personal cheerleader. Surly that skill could come in handy while his friend was in this sort of predicament. He wasn’t going to call the white haired man to do this for him, but he still needed to take a moment of thought to figure out what was a good thing to say. When it finally came to him, he let out a gasp of realization.

“Did you tell him where you should meet for the session?” He started out, looking over at him once more. The question caused Leo to finally look over as well, face already defeated even if he did answer the question with a flat yes. Hearing that caused Odin to get his signature eagerness to come forward.with a bright smile. “Then there you go! You still can meet up and get your study on!” Even though he said it with sincere confidence, Leo didn’t look entirely convinced.

“The library is huge, how will he even be able to find me?”

“He knows what you look like, right?” There was a faint nod. “Then it’ll be fine! Go to the biggest study area they have and he should find you.” By his logic the biggest area would be the most obvious to meet up so this Takumi he’s heard a bit about would most likely go there to look for him first. “If it gets too loud you can both find some other table in the smaller areas or something.” It seemed like sound logic to him, but for the moment he wasn’t getting any response from his friend. He had to think of something quick in order to completely convince his friend that everything would be alright. “And then, you can tell him how you’ll like to keep more in contact in case something pops up so to respond to emails and stuff.” His sentence started to fall apart at the end, but he sure hoped the meaning still got to him to let him know everything will be fine.

After a moment a thought, Leo started to lean towards giving in. “I suppose there’s a chance he didn’t know he should of responded, even though I feel it was obvious.”

“Yeah!” Odin piped up at another thing to go off of. “If he didn’t realize then that’s another reason to let him know you like responses. You’re basically another teacher to him; students should respond to their teachers.”

“Alright, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind for tomorrow. Thank you, Odin.”

Odin felt like he was almost about to cry hearing that sought after thank you. Leo was well mannered, but being thanked for this situation instead of something mundane was a remarkable achievement to him. He managed to keep his emotions in check for the time being as he asked what sort of study plan he had set out for Takumi to get him to sound more confident again. Odin was passing his class, but still some of what Leo was saying went right over his head. He ended up suggesting to tone it down a bit to see where the other student was before knowing what to teach him. Liking the suggestion, Leo asked his friend to move for a moment so he could pull open a drawer he was blocking to pull out a notebook. Once more he was curious and adjusted his position to look at the new notebook.

The papers held lines after lines of information that he concluded Leo was going to teach Takumi. He really hoped he wasn't planning all of that in a day, but was soon relieved to see it was broken up somewhat- even if it wasn’t to the extent he thought would be normal for someone struggling with the the subject. Thankfully a few lines were added to start breaking things up more into easier subjects. Seeing how he was doing better, Odin was able to reassure him that he’ll be “completely daijoubu” and that there’s no need to overthink anything before he started to head out of Leo’s room.

He stopped at the door he left open, giving perfect view of the hall to see the bathroom door shut with the lights on.

“Uh, looks like you missed your chance to shower.”

Behind him there was a groan.

~!~

With classes done with Leo immediately headed over to the library. He wanted to get a good spot that would be visible for his pupil since he didn't need to make things more complicated by being hard to find. When he was suggested the idea from Odin to move to a different spot once they met up, he found it best to execute and that's what he planned to do. He’ll have to talk quite a bit to teach this student so there was no need to be in a crowded study space with many a student and tables, so one of the secluded areas would be best. Hopefully they would find one, but that was a worry for when the session finally started.

Finding a spot he hoped was obvious from the entrance, he sat himself down at a table facing the main door and waited. He wasn't going to sit there doing nothing for a good thirty or so minutes, but he didn't have to worry about being bored since he had a phone to play with. The games were mindless fun, but they did help pass the time which was why he was really looking for. Occasionally he would glance around the library, but at the time all he could find was that it wasn't too populated out here today. Leo found that to be a good thing since it should mean finding a more private area would be easier than he first imagined.

When the time for the study session dawned closer the looks towards the entrance became more common. Getting caught playing on his phone was unprofessional in his mind, and being too distracted to notice he was being approached was out right rude- especially since he was expecting a visitor. First impressions matter after all.

He supposed he couldn't be too upset when the clock hit 4:30 and there was still no sight of the characteristic wayward tuft of rose dust hair. Surly such a notifiable feature would make it easy to pick him out of a crowd. A thought passed through his mind that maybe he was unusually short and he wouldn't be able to see it above the wave of average height people, but the thought left as quickly as it came. He saw Takumi standing in the same picture as Niles, there was no way he was unusually short.

Unless... he was standing on a box.

Stupid thoughts to pass the time.

Five minutes later was when he finally saw the feature he's been looking forever for, but suddenly seeing it actually startled him for a moment. He obviously couldn't call out to him, this was a quiet place, but he wasn't sure if he should wave to him either. He doesn't know that he knows that he went on an investigation to find out what he looks like -but in his defense if Niles didn't say anything he wouldn't of done so. In the end he decided to pretend to still be interested in his phone while occasionally stealing a look up at Takumi to see his next move; an attempt at being nothing but casual.

After a few glances around he could see out of the corner of his eye Takumi look in his direction. At first he wasn't sure if he actually saw him or not, but once he started to come towards him he decided to act like he just now noticed he was being approached. Leo locked his phone and placed it back into his pocket, no longer needing it. He was planning on giving some sort of greeting first, but the other beat him to it once he was in respectable distance to whisper between the two of them.

“Hey, you’re Leo, right?” Takumi asked, looking over the other student once again to make sure. He sure looked like it, but he wasn't sure if he's seen any one else wear a black headband to create a cowlick anywhere else in his life. His impression of him in person was still the same, but being able to see his personality in person would be the only thing that could change that.

“Yes,” named man answered as he stood from his seat, “Takumi, correct?” He struggled with his last name so there was a chance his first was said different too, but thankfully that didn't seem to be the case as he wasn't correct in any way. The other student confirmed it was him and the greeting was finished with a kind hand shake. If the way he looked and dressed -really, the Letterman jacket was a dead giveaway- wasn't enough to go off of, Leo could tell he was an athlete by the calluses on his hands. Surly there were gloves for archery, but that was something they could talk about if they needed a break from physics. “I was thinking of moving over to a smaller study area, is that alright?” He asked next since he couldn't in the email he never got a response to. That was fine; he said he wasn't going to get mad over that anymore. He’ll just have to let him know for future reference he would like more contact than he's been getting. Easy fix to a problem he was making a big deal about beforehand. He’ll have to remember to tell him about it sometime in the lesson, but he should be able to being that he did have great memory.

“That’s fine,” the request was easily agreed upon. He wasn’t sure what sort of study plan he was going to suddenly be slapped with, but he didn’t want to disrupt any other students with his constant complaining that all this stuff was just too much for him. He wasn’t big brain enough for it, as Hinata usually said in regards to English, “where to?” When he noted Leo picked up his own bag from the ground he adjusted his own over his shoulder to prepare for the move.

“I’m not certain yet, but I’m sure we can find something.” With that said they started off with Leo leading the way. He knew this place more, Takumi ended up admitting he hardly visited the library once he told Leo to show him the way, so he would know where to go to get them a quiet spot. Even though it wasn’t that far of a walk, there was light small talk between them. Leo was the one to start it, figuring the best way to get rid of first study session jitters would get to know his pupil as who he truly is- not the front he puts up just because he was dealing with the perverted bi disaster that is Niles. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you visit the library often?”

He received a small shrug before getting any verbal response. “I normally go to my dorm to study and even then I hardly do it.” A small smile crossed the athlete’s lips. “Maybe that’s why I’m here now.” His little smile grew once Leo chuckled at his joke.

“I can give you some of my study tips too, if you want.”

“Thanks; I’d appreciate that.”

They were in luck when they discovered how the little area Leo was leading them to was vacant and were quick to make themselves at home at one of the three tables the area had to offer. It was secluded, but Takumi saw it as he wouldn’t have to worry about constantly whispering and could speak at a normal volume. They sat across from each other and Leo started to pull things out of his bag, prompting Takumi to do the same, but the blond was quick to pick up that something was missing.

“Do you have a physics book?” If he didn’t, then it really wasn’t a surprise that he was failing, but that thought was kept to himself. Surely he did and surely he knew that it would obviously be needed today.

“My roommate and I share one and he has it right now.” It was unfortunate that the time he picked had his roommate in his own physics class, but the spot worked better for him than the others offered..

“I see… that’s fine though, you’ll just have to use mine.” Well he supposed he knew how to save money, he’ll give him that. Oh well, it was a minor setback letting him use his own book, but he would be able to adapt his study plan around it. “So do you know where you are in the book?” To be kind he turned his own book around and pushed it closer to Takumi, letting him have control over it to flip through and find the right spot. He already planned to bring his book with him to every one of the sessions, but now he had more of a reason to. The other student thumbed one of the corners of the hardback cover before finally opening up the book. After flipping through a number of pages he thought he found what he was looking for, but there was a moment of stillness before more pages were ruffled. Takumi was much closer to the beginning cover than he was a few moments ago.

“Is something the matter?” Sure his textbook had quite a few notes in it, but it was still very legible. It was also in good condition so that shouldn’t be a problem either. He couldn’t help but be a little concerned seeing Takumi’s brows merged together in conflict. Did he possibly have the wrong edition? Sure the actual professors taught differently, but he thought they all used the same book. He couldn’t adapt that fast if it was the wrong text.

“I’m… honestly a bit far behind.” It seemed to take a lot to admit it, but whatever response he expected didn’t come as Leo replied easily.

“That’s alright,” it wasn’t the end of the world and why they were here, just now he had to think of where to start. Besides being far behind was much better than what he was starting to worry about. Good thing he had his own notes to go off of. He moved his own notebook in front of himself, looking over its contents with a small “let’s see” before finding a good spot to go off of.

“Do you know what things like momentum, power, and the conservation of energy are defined as?”

“I’m not stupid.” He sounded a bit miffed, but he didn’t prove himself by giving the definitions of each word. That was fine, Leo wasn’t asking for them for the time being.

“I wasn’t saying you were.” he already tried to placate with a shake of his head. A good teacher doesn’t go around and call their student an idiot. The small apology helped lessen the frown on Takumi’s face enough to where he felt it was alright to continue. “What about the formulas?” There he could see the other stiffen in his seat with tense shoulders, brain working as he stared off at a miscellaneous book in the bookshelf he was seated closest to. It seemed like he did want to prove something here so Leo gave him the time to try and come up with anything, but it was starting to become obvious that nothing was going to come out. Leo spoke up since it seemed like Takumi was too stubborn to admit defeat there.

“That would be an ideal place to begin. We can start with the easiest ones today and go from there, sound good?”

“If you can make them all easy for me, that’ll be great.”

“I’ll try my best.” His promise was appreciated with a subtle smile.

With that the talk of formulas, what they were for, and their purpose started. Leo didn’t want to shove them all in his face in one day, so he decided to break it up to give ones that only had three or four parts in the equation with easy multiplication. Every now and then he would stop and ask if it sounded familiar to make sure he wasn’t working ahead of his actual professors’ lesson plan, but after getting confirmation that it was vaguely similar or that he’s sworn he’s seen it on some homework, he continued on.

There were a few struggles, mostly revolving fixing his writing since that seemed to be one of the sources of Takumi’s problems. If he wrote his numbers neater and had them line up properly, his work would be much more easier to follow along. The little suggestion to fix his writing wasn't the most well received - he was learning physics not penmanship here, the given reason- if the frown and the occasional murmur that his writing was fine was anything to go off of, but at least it seemed to be an accepted suggestion for now. He sure hoped that he didn't cause him to snap at one point, but he didn't seem like the type of person to get mad over something like that. Hopefully.

At the moment he was forming his own opinion of his pupil and not the nonsense that Niles told him earlier. The images were like two completely different people, but he wasn't going to jump to conclusions of anything just yet. The stubbornness was showing in the sense of small comebacks about his writing style. Sure it was legible, just the numbers were a mess. Hard working defiantly fit the description as he seemed to do as much as possible without asking for help until the last possible moment.

Getting asked for help was why he was here though so he really should speak up, Leo thought. After looking at the crease in Takumi’s brows as he went through a problem, he decided to let him figure that out on his own. He seemed to want to prove himself, but it left a bit of a predicament for Leo. Should he let him figure it out on his own and wait for him to ask for help or speak up after letting him try for a bit longer?

It was then he realized that this was something they would have to work out together. Each student is different after all and he would need to know how to deal with each of the variety of types once he gained more pupils. As the study sessions went on he will be able to pick out and adapt to what type of learner Takumi, and therefore others, were. At the moment, he didn't have too much to go off of besides determined to solve things independently.

And that was fine with him; people worked differently there was nothing wrong with that. Even though at the moment he was only watching Takumi scribble down in his own notebook, once again forgetting his advice of writing neater to make things easier for him. Maybe he could make that another little goal for his pupil: To write neater and pass physics. He'd have to admit he'd be quite proud of the both of them if something like that were to happen. Some part of him held a feeling that it would be even harder to teach him penmanship that physics based on his current reactions of being told to change. Any physics advice Takumi took with a small alright and fixed immediately while being told to write differently was received with a small frown before any progress made for the better was erased when he fell back into old habits.

“Hey- are you listening?”

Leo looked up from where he was staring at the middle of a page in Takumi’s notebook to meet his gaze, immediately noting the small frown the tanned athlete had most likely from getting ignored. Now he had another thing to apologize for, but this wasn't going to wait until the end of the session.

“Sorry, how rude of me; I was lost in thought.” How unprofessional, and here he was thinking of what to do to be the opposite. “Did you ask me something?”

“Yes,” whatever annoyance he had towards the blond turned towards his notebook as he flipped it to show Leo, “I think I did this one wrong and I'm not sure how.” He got an answer, but he had this gut feeling that it just didn't look right to him. It felt too small of a number to fit. It was best to ask the expert since he wasn't knowledgeable enough to know where the mess up was if there even was one.

It didn't take long for Leo to find the mistake and turn the notebook around to face it’s owner, finger right above the mistake to show the problem. “You calculate your answer with this as a “9” when it's suppose to be “4”. I would suggest-”

“I get it already; my writing is fine.” It was said with a pout as he erased his answer and closed the circle to make the fore a night.

“If you insist.” Was the response said with a grin that was missed by the others eyes.

The rest of the session went a bit smoother even if there were many hiccups. Leo was kind enough to not blatantly say anything was wrong with his writing as he fixed any mistakes -since the reality wasn’t that big of a problem yet. At the moment things were rather simple in teaching him what he needs to know. When the equations and the problems became more complicated, then he will be more strict on it. Things would need to be neat when he started writing out things like heat energy formulas- to focus mostly if he got the problem right. He was quite impressed with his work, the way he downplayed himself it made things seem like Takumi was horrendous at the subject. A lot of it seemed to be second guessing, most likely from being far behind as he described, but he will make sure he would get back on track to pass the subject.

When Leo brought up that it was time to end the session, Takumi gave a long exhale as he leaned back in his seat, thankful for the solitude of their little study corner since it would most likely cause other students to look and stare if they were in a more populated area. He’d rather keep his dramatic display to just the two of them if he could help it since he couldn’t help his reaction. He felt like he covered half the book already and it was just the first session; even worse he knew things would get harder. He couldn’t give up just yet though, although the task did seem daunting.

Takumi pushed Leo’s book back towards him with another thanks for letting him borrow it for now and the rest of the sessions. Unless Hinata’s class randomly canceled, he’d always have to borrow it. It didn’t seem like he minded that much so that helped him not worry about it too much. The notes inside it were really helpful once he looked them over and he wished he could put them in his shared copy for future reference, but he was sharing a rented copy.

“You did well today,” positive reinforcement was a good thing if his sociology class was worth anything. Every problem he worked through without needing to be fixed up -which were quite few- was approved with a small quip of praise before he moved onto the next, “you seem to be quite the fast learner. No doubt you’ll be passing the class in no time.” He’ll let a few more sessions go on before forming any sort of conclusions, but if he were allowed to make conclusions already, he believed that the problem lied in simply not having the time to the study. If he sat down and remembered everything he needed, he wouldn’t need his services.

In the middle of putting his stuff away Takumi froze, not really expecting the praise especially to that extent. It was so small, and yet he was being called a fast learner in a subject he was the worst at? He felt like he made so many mistakes and the -what he thought- the few times he didn’t all he received was a small monotone good before continuing on. That compliment sounded genuine and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. In need of distraction Takumi continued under the guise of preparing to leave by shuffling things around in his bag to put it in it’s perfect place. There was no way he could let this man he just met see how he was affected by such a compliment, making him do whatever he needed to do to hide the light blush dusting his cheeks. “I’m not too sure about that, but… thanks.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Leo was quick to say once he noticed pink dust his pupil’s cheek. Embarrassing a student like that was also completely unprofessional, but it wasn’t like it was his intention to do so. He simply wanted to reward him for his good work. Should he do it some other way then? He wasn’t allowed to think about that or how Niles was right on something he had at first ignored since Takumi was continuing on as if nothing happened.

“Anyway, Thursday same time, right?” His blush was still there but he was trying to ignore it, making Leo feel obliged to do the same. He wouldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“Yes,” he started to answer after clearing his throat, “I think it will be best to meet here again if the spots available. If not, then by the front of the library. I usually arrive to events early so I can hold it for us if available.” Through his little plan Takumi was able to get over his small fluster and focus on more important things like meeting up again. The plan sounded good to him so he easily agreed to it. Hopefully they were able to get this spot again, he liked how secluded it was and Leo was in the same mindset. The both of them stood up to leave, but before parting ways just yet there was something he must bring up. “Oh, and one more thing before you leave.”

Takumi was adjusting his bag over his shoulder before he heard Leo speak up, looking over at him with a raised brow. “What is it?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep in contact to know if anything comes up and we can’t meet. To be honest, I was expecting a response to the email I sent you to confirm I could tutor you.” He wasn’t sure how to address how he wanted better contact since he didn’t want to come across as forcing him to be responsive, so he decided to be honest in saying what he expected.

Takumi looked confused at the statement. “I was suppose to respond to that?” If it was his turn for sharing honest thoughts he thought it was some sort of automated message that the tutor session was a go. He only read the first sentence to see it was happening at the time suggested before discarding the thing. It only occurred to him as he was about to leave his dorm for the meeting that he didn’t know where to go that he rifled through his deleted folder to see where to meet. After seeing the library he closed out the email app on his phone and made his way down with things he thought he would need. It wasn’t like the email specified what he should have on him when he was looking for any information on where to meet.

Leo did his best to not look too offended at that, but there was a small downturn to the corners of his lips as he responded. “It would have been preferred.” At least he found out that he checked his email like every student was suppose to.

If the frown was caught it wasn’t acknowledged as Takumi was reaching into his pocket. “It’s better to get to me through text so I can give you my number?” He was suggesting even though he had already pulled out his phone. The thought never occurred to Leo until he was staring down at the device.  

“If it’s easier for you, then I’m alright with it.” He didn’t mind either way as long as he had a reliable contact and pulled out his own phone. The way Takumi wished to exchange contact information was trading phones which Leo went along with. It was a bit odd for Leo, but only because it was different from what he was use to. The only people in his contact list was his family. All his professors were in his email and his two best friends were in a messenger app that also worked on a laptop since Odin broke another phone, but he wasn’t going to act odd over it. It was weird to be hesitant over something he suggested and agreed to. Takumi’s phone was the same as his minus the model so it was easy to navigate to know what to put his information in. He didn’t mean to snope, but he couldn’t help but notice that Takumi had a multitude of contacts. Of course he wasn’t going to look through them all, that was rude, but he couldn’t but wonder how he managed to keep much less acquire so many contacts.

Typing in his own name cause him to overthink a bit. What should he put besides just Leo? It was a common name, he might have on in there already so he should specify. He thought about putting his last name at the end, but from what he saw no other contacts had last name so maybe he should make his fit the status quo. In the end he decided to just put Tutor in the last name field. It looked fitting.

Takumi was finishing up with putting in his own contact when Leo heard his phone go off in the other’s hand with a buzz. He could of sworn he turned any sort of notification off so he wouldn’t get disturbed during the study session, but it looks like it wasn’t the case. The wonder of who bothered him was increased with Takumi gave a huffed laugh.

“Sorry for looking but someone called “Deathpacito” called you a bitchlord.” There was some other words in the message, but those two words jumped out to him for obvious reason. He’d forever remember them. He didn’t know who, but he was going to use them on someone.

“He changed them again?” Leo asked sounding defeated even though he wasn’t looking for an answer. His phone was handed back to him and after making sure Takumi’s contact was properly saved, he checked the group message to see that yes, the names were changed again after only a few days. He’ll worry about it later.

Thankfully Takumi didn’t ask about it since he had a feeling he was curious, but he was distracted by his own phone. Surly his own contact was alright, but that didn’t seem to be his concern since he needed to hurry up to somewhere. He didn’t specify, but there was no need to since the session was over.

With that the first successful study came to and end and they both walked out of the library together, talking about what to expect next week before parting ways.

That went well.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> deathpacito will not age well but it will get me everytime and that's ok


	4. Is

When Leo was making his way back it occurred to him that he didn’t apologize for running into him that one day. He had the man’s number so he could text him it, but he decided he didn’t want to bother him over something as small as that. It really wasn’t that big of a deal he was finally starting to admit- but now there were other things he needed to worry about in regards to Takumi. Now that the first session was over he was able to get an idea of where Takumi was in the subject and where to start helping him improve. He really was better at the math than what he was giving himself credit for- he just needed to have the confidence to realize that. That should be some thing Leo could easily work through- or at least he hoped so.

He would still need to adjust his notebook with his study plan for however long this would go on, but that could wait until he got back to his apartment. The thought made him wonder if his roommates were there too. Surely they would want to hear everything that happened- they were horribly nosy like that. He wouldn’t mind sharing though, just as long as the questions were appropriate and that concern was mostly towards Niles.

When he arrived back at his apartment he caught Odin at the entrance starting to put on his shoes. The other blond looked up hearing the door unlock, smiling once he realized who it was.

“Hey! How'd the tutoring go?” He asked after standing up with both sneakers on.

“It went great.” He knew to leave it at that, there was no need to keep Odin distracted for longer for one simple reason.

“That's great, buddy! Be sure to tell me all about it when I get back- I'm running late to class.” And with that and a pat to Leo’s back he left the apartment. Of course he was running late, he always is no matter how many times both him and Niles told him to leave early.

Speaking of the other man he was on the couch flipping through some channels on television, not amused with what was being shown. At first it bothered him, but now he has great entertainment standing right in his doorway.

“So, did you get a picture of your date for me?” He asked as he turned in his spot to face Leo better who simply rolled his eyes at the question.

“It wasn't a date- it was a study session. And I'm not going to take a picture of someone that you already know without their consent.” He corrected as he started to put his own shoes to the side as he kept his bag on his shoulders. He liked to keep it in his room which was were he was going to go to place it. Unsurprisingly, Niles got up to start following him.

He played dejected over not getting a picture he never seriously wanted, but he didn't hold it for long since he had something better to play with. “You say that for now,” but in reality he would be surprised if anything came of this romantically. He's heard the unbelievably picky standards of his friend, there was no way Takumi fit any of them. Then again, the version he knew of the athlete was quite different than what Leo probably got to see- how lucky of him, “but I bet that will change.”

“Sure it will.” Leo said dismissively as he placed his bag on the back of his desk chair. “Don't you have anything better to do than try to set me up in a relationship with my student?” Of course it was a rhetorical question, but he always did love to answer those out of spite.

“Don't word it like that; you make it sound weird.” Like some shitty student teacher romance he's seen too many times in porn. Really it was overdone. “Besides, you’re a student too.”

“I'm basically a teacher for him.”

“Well you're _basically_ the same age.”

“Stop trying to set me up with a student.” He repeated again, tired of the subject.

Niles gave in with a small sigh since his fun just had to be ruined. “Alright, fine. What about the rest of session then? How did that go?”

At some point during the talk explaining how the strictly platonic session went, they made their way to the couch to sit down upon. Niles acted normal during the explanation since his fun was ruined, asking things like how Takumi acted in regards to someone who didn't annoy him with “charm” (debatable description) and things of the sort. When Leo started to explain how he thought he was handling the actual physics part of it all, it honestly went in one ear and out the other for Niles, but he didn't really care. Leo hardly ever got excited and very talkative towards anything, he wasn't going to ruin his parade- even if he did ruin his own. Overall he had to agree it sounded like a very successful first meet up together. Then again Leo did hide the detail of missing social cues since he didn't want to get the learn to talk to people right lecture again.

Of course questions in regards to never getting a response email came up and he asked how Leo handled that in person. The answer was no doubt amusing to him.

“So you can text him anytime you want?”

“Within reason, I suppose.” He wasn't going to at any ridiculous hour. Then again it wasn't like he knew the man’s schedule. Any hour minus the one where the actually met up had the capacity to not be a good time to send some message. He'd still need to if anything came up that caused something to change with their meeting, but that wasn't going to happen unless it was absolutely required.

“So you can text him something like… ‘what are you doing tonight?’”

He thought he was done, but apparently not. “Not only would I _not_ text him something like that in general, it wouldn't be anything so cheesy.”

“It's better than asking what he’s wearing.”

He couldn't help but groan- that was information he never cared to know about. Really he wished he would just stop, but just like with physical contact Niles knew limits of this sort of talk too. He decided to stop for good this time and instead continue in the conversation to a normal topic.

“So in all seriousness what if you texted him just to talk?”

“About what?” It seemed like Niles was ready to stop this stupid crazy talk, but he couldn’t help to be a bit suspicious of his motives. He might be giving him a short break from his perverted onslaught before going back to his spiteful ways again.

“Whatever you need to become friends, perhaps?” It was a suggestion in a condescending tone since he felt like it was obvious, but the only thing that was obvious was Leo struggling to pick up the idea since he had to say it outright. The tone hardly bothered Leo mostly because he was staring down at his feet wondering the possibilities. Takumi seemed nice for the most part, defensive occasionally, but overall pleasant. They were from two different parts of society, a nerd and a jock- would they really be able to become friends outside of this service he was providing. He wasn’t sure how likely it was.

“I do not wish to disturb him...”

“Then let him text first.” It was said so easily Leo wasn’t sure how it really was a solution.

“That won’t work.”

“Hold on a moment before you get all sad on yourself cause you don’t know how to socialize to save your life-”

“-Hey-!”

“-so I’m giving you a plan that fits your style if you’ll allow me to explain.” There was a stare down between the two friends with Niles looking knowing with opened palms towards Leo and said man returning the look with a steady glare. He knew he wasn’t the best at talking to new people unless he had to -it took a lot to psyche himself for the first meeting and even then he had to hide some nerves- so he really didn’t need to rub it in like that. He let his scowl say all that was on his mind as he let Niles continue. “So wait until he texts you first and see if you can form a conversation with what he says.”

“And how exactly do I do that?” Surely he knew how bad he was at such a feat after reminding him about his flaws.

“By letting us help, of course.” Us being Odin who hopefully wasn’t that late to his classes.

“I don’t trust you.”

“That’s so rude. I did say us as in Odin will be there too didn’t I?” So he’ll have a more level headed helper while Niles was having his fun flustering Leo. “Besides, I know that foreplay is needed before going in.”

Another groan. “Are you ever done?” It was said with such distaste that Niles felt it was time to move on for good, making him leave it at that. At some point the conversation changed, but Leo didn't mind at all. Even though all his innuendos and his overall perverted nature was too much sometimes, it was easy for him to talk to Niles. Leo was never the best at talking to people in general, but even though his awkward elementary years Niles stuck with him as a childhood friend.

Talk ended with Niles got a text on his phone and the small upturn to the corner of his lips was all Leo needed to know who It's was. He didn't know the name of this person per say since he once accidentally saw a text from someone who's name was only hearts, but the context was there and it answered the question Leo wasn’t going to ask. He’ll let the white haired man share that news on his own whenever he wanted to. Niles got up from his spot and told him he'd probably be back for their movie night tonight before heading off- but of course not without his habit of ruffling Leo’s hair as parting goodbye.

Leo told him to hurry up and go with a small chuckle before pulling his headband off his head to readjust it since it was ruined in the display of friendship. When it was resting on his head in the way he preferred he decided to get up off the couch again to head to his room. He needed to adjust his study plan, might as well do it now to get it over with. Once he had his bag he decided to bring it to the living room since he did have the whole apartment to himself.

As he was looking over the study plan he had he began to think. Changing it up would be a little difficult he realized. Some things Takumi may be able to take in easily while other he might struggle with. Not only that, the course of his actual class may change and he might need to head in a different direction than he is now. Surly the other will let him know if anything like that were to happen since there was no way Leo would know. In the end he decided to get rid of things like cover one certain part in one day and the other in another in favor to see how the sessions would play out. As much as he liked how organized going by day was, this wasn't something he could go at completely at his pace. He had another party to consider here.  

The fixes took some time mostly because he kept thinking and redoing what he thought would be the best for his student. This was the first time he was able to really tutor anyone but he still wanted everything to be perfect for him. He didn't want to be part of the reason why he failed, he'd feel like the worst person alive. The silence was nice as he worked on his plans before realizing he was a student too with homework to work on. For that he needed to grab his laptop, but it as well was brought into the living room to enjoy the open apartment. Studying was always an easy task for him since he loved to absorb the information. The only classes he ever really struggled with were those the teacher made boring and didn't care about their job, but even though he still passed the course the only thing he really took away from it was that he was not going to be like that when he started his own teaching career.

He was halfway through an online reading when he remembered he was suppose to form some study tips to help Takumi out. A small gasp left him as he went to grab his tutoring notebook from where he left it in his room when he grabbed his laptop. There were still some blank pages in the notebook, he could add a bunch of study tips he could share with Takumi that he used. It wasn’t something he had to do, but he wanted to make sure his student had the best opportunities in order to pass this class he was struggling with. If he didn’t still after all this help, it would reflect poorly on Leo and he doubted there would be a chance to redeem himself after failing one person. He didn’t want to think so selfishly, of course the prospect of failing a class would be worse for Takumi, but he couldn’t help but think how the scary red letter “F” would affect him too.

Now wasn’t the time to worry over such things, right now he had study tips to wright down and there was a lot he wished to cover.

~!~

Once back at his dorm Takumi pushed the door open once it was unlocked. It was quite with a lack of blaring music meaning that Hinata wasn’t around. He didn’t mind though, he was most likely out with Oboro and he was going to let a couple have their time together. They didn’t always need to hang out as a trio nor did he always want to. Nothing against them, but he did enjoy some peace and quiet time to himself. With the room to himself he placed his bag on his bed and sat down next to it, wanting to take a moment to look over all that was done in the first session. He pulled out his notebook bought just for the tutoring, flipping through the first few pages.

He felt that a lot was done in just one day and even though he made quite a few mistakes, he tried not to knock himself too much. He was here to learn; if he got everything correct right off the bat he’d start thinking that the session was a waste of his time. Leo made everything seem so easy with how he was teaching it all- hopefully that will remain the same when things started to get a bit tougher. Hopefully Leo will make it just as easy to understand as everything was in this first session.

Speaking of Leo, his perspective of him changed since he got the chance to actually meet him. Some things were still the same: How he was proper and prince like, but he had a feeling that description stayed due to the fact how formerly he spoke. It wasn’t something he was going to tease him for being that he wasn’t that kind of person, it was just different. Not something he was really use to, but something he would probably easily overlook once more meetups went on. Even with the fancy speak he didn’t put on the impression of being stiff and uptight which was all he could really ask for. He seemed to take the job of a tutor as a real one even though he was pretty sure he wasn’t getting paid for it, but he could turn that into a good thing by seeing it as a passion to be a teacher. There were times he seemed a bit absent minded, but whenever the athlete asked for attention he was quick to bring himself back into the present.

The best thing though was that he was kind. Any mistake he made he fixed with an easy smile that showed that a little fault wasn’t the end of the world. Takumi hated making mistakes, especially in his archery so he should have the same mindset for his studies. Even with the quips to his penmanship, it always sounded like a friendly suggestion instead of a request and he never got mad when he snapped back that how he wrote was fine before suggesting a fix again five minutes later. It was a personality he could work with and shouldn’t clash with when he was having a moment of stubbornness which could be quite often given the scenario.

He hoped nothing changed for the negative once more meetups came into fruition- with such a positive first time he didn’t want anything to start going wrong. It was way too early to tell if the tutoring was helping or not, but he sure hoped it was. He wasn’t sure what other options he had if he wasted all his time trying to fix his grade with methods that ended up being pointless.

With a sigh he let the notebook flop onto his chest as he stared up at the ceiling. Alright, fine, he may admit that he should write the notes down neater so he’ll be able to look back on them easier once he was applying the knowledge to his actual class, but that was something he would worry about later. His brain deserved a break from the extra work he subjected himself to.

The break lasted all but a few minutes before Takumi decided he couldn’t sit still for any longer. He pushed himself up off the bed and placed his study notebook by his pillow to do something with later. He had better plans at the moment and that involved getting some archery practice in for the day. It was another thing he deserved after such a successful first tutoring session. Besides, a day is way too long for him to not have a bow and arrow in his hands.

~!~

Even though he did say that Tuesdays and Thursday worked best with his schedule, he still changed up the flow of his lifestyle to better accommodate the meetings. He soon learned after a few more meetings that he could drop off his stuff at his dorm, enjoy the silence for a moment since Hinata was usually gone, before heading down to the archery range to practice by himself. It was a much better way to relax than just laying around in his mind. This was something he was good at, and watching himself do what needed to be done in the form of hitting targets was exactly the mental boost he needed after certain meetings.

Speaking of the meetings, there's been three more ever sense and he felt like he already learned so much from Leo. His own notebook has been filled with random equations that will probably only be useful for the course, but he didn’t care anymore since his biggest priority was to improve his grade- remembering such nonsense was how he was going to have to do it. Every session had some form of multiple comments on how he should write neater, and even though they all have annoyed him he has noticed that his writing has followed more along the lines on his notebook. At least Leo was there to turn the chiding into a compliment by saying that smarter people tend to write messy or something of the sort. Takumi wasn’t sure he entirely believed that, but he wasn’t going to turn down a compliment like that. He didn’t notice how he straightened his shoulders a bit once told that in a sense of pride, but Leo was attentive to a change in body position and hid a faint smile behind his hand.

It was proof that Takumi truly did worked well off of positive reinforcement and he made sure to add in more praise when it seemed like he was struggling with some of the study. Leo made sure not to raise the bar too exponentially in comparison to the last session, but he still wanted to make sure the athlete wasn’t falling too far being in his class. It was a balancing act to make sure everything was working as planned since he didn’t want Takumi to suddenly feel overwhelmed with things jumping too far forward to catch up. At the pace they were going now seemed to be perfect with no complaints from the pupil which was all Leo was asking for.

During one of the session things changed though where something did not go according to Leo’s well thought out plan: They finished early. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but the blond felt it was his fault for poorly planning the sessions. When he broke the material to make it easier on the other he must of accidentally made this section shorter than the others without realizing it. Of course he didn’t say that- he knew a way to turn it into a compliment.

“I'm impressed, you finished all I had planned much earlier than I anticipated.” The tutor stated after he finished looking over the last of the equations he planned for him, hiding thought of poor planning on his part. Takumi didn’t need to know that information. Instead he focused his attention on said student. “You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for, honestly.” He added as he handed the notebook back to him. The praise was effective by the squaring of Takumi’s shoulders as he took his notebook back, looking it over himself for a moment before closing the book. To be honest Leo never thought of this happening so he never prepared for what he should do. They had about fifteen minutes left, where they suppose to sit the whole time or leave?

“So I’m done for the day?” Takumi asked after he relaxed again after preening up at the compliment. It was a habit he didn’t realize he had and no one had pointed it out to him yet. Leo wasn’t going to be the first to do so.

“That’s correct.” His response still held the casual confidence he normally had when he spoke, but in reality he was completely uncertain. Should he start packing up and leaving? Is that what Takumi wanted to do? Would he be offended if he left? He didn’t really have anything planned afterwards.The smart thing to do, he felt, was to review the information to make sure it as imprinted into Takumi’s mind, but he felt he needed a break after all they covered.

The other student apparently felt the same as right when he found out they were done for the he leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh, murmuring a thanks to those above that he was able to rest his brain. The display was amusing to Leo, but he hid any mirth he had with only a smile. He’d have to share some of his dramatics with Odin, but talk of roommates wasn’t on his mind even if it would be fun to see how he would react if he found out he was rooming with the same Niles that teased him.

He must be picking up some undesirable habits from the white haired man.

After a short pause to hold the position that was some how comfortable, Takumi moved to lean his elbows against the table again, trapping his notebook in between his arms with no interest in opening it again. He might once more when he gets back to his dorm before going to the archery range, but there was other things on his mind before then.

“So, what’s next?” They never finished early before so he wasn’t sure if there was anything else to do- maybe he had something planned, he seemed like the type who would since their past four sessions have been structured to the T. To his surprised Leo simply blinked at him before averting gaze.

“To be honest… I'm not quite sure.” Keeping secrets from a student wouldn’t be ideal so he ended up telling the truth. This really was a small thing anyway, but he’s planned everything out so well until this point. He thought about just dismissing him and saying they could end the session instead of just studying some more, but it seemed like Takumi had other ideas.

With his head tilted to the side in question he was able to easily start conversation. “So why do you offer so many subjects if you mind me asking?” It's been on his mind since Hinata numbered them off when they were looking for a tutor. Besides, if he was going to be studying with this man for an unknown amount of time he might as well get to know him beyond appearances and being smart. Sure finding the answer to why he can teach so many things just might provided the trait of intelligence again, but there was a chance that there could be more to it.

Oh. Casual conversation. He could do that.

“I wish to be a teacher, so I want to help any struggling student in what subjects I can.” He answered after looking over at him once again. He didn’t mind spending the rest of their session simply talking about anything -honestly he didn’t think about doing that to begin with- but he wasn’t going to say no to the opportunity. The answer caused Takumi to let out a snort of a laugh, the humor receiving a small pout from Leo that grew into a frown once he spoke up.

“That sounds like a beauty pageant answer.” Then again he didn’t expect anything less from someone who oozed a sense of elegance and royalty. The next time he points out his ugly handwriting -which he has been improving, thank you- he was going to add ‘your highness’ somewhere in his retort.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to help people.” Leo stated as he did his best to hold in a scoff. There was no need to add any sort of defiance in his words, even if he might feel a bit offended at the call out. He did not need start going out of his way to start arguments with his student just in case his own annoyed tone was perceived in such a way. His words were received with an easy shrug.

“Doesn't it get a bit overwhelming?” Surely he would have to keep on top of those subjects himself in order to teach them to others. Smart people scare him sometimes.

It took a moment for Leo to formulate his answer mostly because he didn’t want to come across as someone humbly bragging about his intelligence. “I spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect way to study for myself. When I did, things because much easier for me.” He decided to leave it at that, but it did remind him of something he promised Takumi a few sessions ago. “Maybe next time we could split our session with one part being covering the material and for the other half I can share some study tips?” He suggested. The offer was already on the table before, but now he was trying to put it into motion for their next meet up.

“Yeah, sounds good.” Takumi agreed to the idea with an easy nod of his head. Right now he was tired of learning and was happy for this break that came with ending early. Besides, taking in study tips and actually processing them would probably take longer than the ten or so minutes they technically had left. He didn’t really consider leaving even though he could -well, before he started conversation at least- since the thought of getting to know his tutor better sounded nicer than going back to his dorm. He could do that whenever- seeing Leo was only limited to two days for a limited amount of time. Takumi liked knowing people he was going to be spending a lot of time with and he was no exception. “Do you have a lot of techniques and shit?” He asked next to continue conversation. He didn’t want the full strategy book right off the bat obviously, but there was nothing wrong with getting a little sneak peek of what he should expect.

A hum left Leo as he tilted his head to the side. “I don’t believe so? I normally make sure I write down everything neatly and memorize it.” Reading what he was writing down in his mind also helped him memorize what he needed to know for whatever assignment he was working on, but that was something he felt like he could go in depth in once that session comes.

“Is that another jab at my writing?” Takumi challenged with a suspicious look in his eyes. He was doing his best here he didn’t need to constantly rub it in his face that he writes like a toddler while Leo’s over there inscribing like he's signing a demand for independence from the motherland.

Once more not wanting to start a fight with his student, Leo quickly stuttered to try and fix any problem he might of accidentally caused. “O-Of course not!” He still made sure his voice was quiet enough to not disturb other students even if they couldn’t be seen from their current spot.

The suspecting look vanished just as fast as the blond’s statement and was replaced by a raised brow. ‘I’m not that mad about it.” He was actually just trying to set up a teasing joke since that's just how he normally was around his friends. Then again in many ways Leo was still just an acquaintance even if he still didn’t mind changing that.

Ah, he sees now. He missed a social queue. Maybe he did need a little help from Niles and Odin. “Oh, I’m sorry about that.” He recovered after clearing his throat. He should of looked more at Takumi’s body language to see if he really was offended or not. He was too caught off guard by the sudden accusation to look for anything at that time.

The apology was accepted with a shrug even though it wasn’t necessary. At the least it told him that Leo wasn’t that familiar and/or use to his style of humor and fun, but there was nothing wrong with that.

Maybe he’ll get use to it as these tutoring sessions go on.


	5. y=1/x

…

Fuck.

…

Great.

Amazing.

Fan-fuckin-tastic.

At the least, this was why he had Leo.

The start of his physics lecture began with a handout at the door he needed to pick up before heading to his seat. After looking it over, dread immediately pooled at the bottom of his stomach. His professor was kind enough to give them a study guide to go off of in preparation for the upcoming test, but they haven't helped him in the past. Worst of all, a study guide did mean a test -which was a surprising correlation he knew- and if he didn’t do good on the test his grade would lower some more and he wasn’t sure how many more hits that number could take before being unable to fix it.

Takumi sat down in his seat and started to look over the small packet to get an idea of what he needed to ask Leo as the other students filled the room.

Everything.

Who was he kidding- he was still trying to play catch up and needed help with everything. Sure he had a better feeling in the sense he knew what most of these words meant which was a vast improvement from where he would be if he didn’t pick up a tutor, but knowing what words meant wasn’t going to get him a passing grade. The professor was coming to the front of the room so he knew the lecture was about to start if the room filling wasn’t a big enough hint. The professor was strict on phones and seemed to always catch someone even thinking of pulling out the device for a non emergencies so Takumi knew he had to be quick. He slipped his phone out of his pocket, searching up the correct contact before sending a quickly typed message.

_ Me: Hey I have a physics test common up can u help me w stufy _

He didn’t even have time to make sure everything made sense and that auto correct wasn’t going to try and ruin him since the class was starting; the professor was already going on a small rant how phones should be put up. He couldn’t be mad about the call for respect, but he would have to admit he liked the teachers who were more laid back about the topic. He didn’t think Leo would respond right away being that he probably had a class too, but it wasn’t like he’d be able to check anyway. He was going to be going over the study guide in class anyway so that should help, but he knew he was still going to need that one on one with Leo after this class was done.

The receiver of the text message was actually able to look at it right away since his class for the day canceled last minute. It was a shame, but it sometimes happens, making him change his plans for the day from going to class to going to the library to rewrite his notes from a different subject neater and color coated in its own notebook. It was another habit he picked up that helped him study and remember all he needed. Currently listening to music on his phone, Leo was neatly writing away until there was a dip in the music at the sound of a text message. A small frown crossed his features mostly because the jingle of a notification ruined his favorite part of the song, but he didn’t mind since he would be replaying it anyway. No one can stop him.

The song was completely forgotten though once he saw who it was. Even after exchanging numbers, no texts were exchanged making this the first one and the contents were… interesting to say the least. It didn’t take long for him to figure out what Takumi was trying to ask even with the few errors the message had. He wondered if he always sent messages written out the same way, but he supposed that was something he would find out when and if Takumi ended up sending more messages.

Leo responded with of course they could and to bring whatever material he had for the test tomorrow before checking everything was spelled correctly and pressing send. Maybe the professor would have a study guide or tell what chapters to look over for it, but either he could work with to help Takumi. The test would truly challenge his tutoring to see if he was doing a good job; even though he wanted the other student to pass since no humane person would want another to fail a grade, he couldn’t help but have some selfish reasoning to see if he was on the right steps to become a competent teacher as well.

With his own studies no longer on his mind his focus shifted on a class he wasn’t even taking. Hopefully he has been going at a good enough place for Takumi to do better in the class and also be able to do fair on the test. He’ll help to make sure he passes, but he couldn't help but wonder if it would be a drastic shift from what he was current tutoring him in to what he was going to need to help him with. They might need to extend the study sessions to compensate bridging a gap -if there was one- which was a change he hoped Takumi would be able to make if not understand as well. He will have to form a plan once he was told what to expect on that test, but since he hasn’t received a response yet that would have to wait until later.

When the next meet up came Takumi was already in the meeting spot looking over his phone with the study guide between his arms on the table. He was relieved when Leo said he'd be able to look over the information with him, but that didn't make the worry within him lessen any. Surely Leo could dumb all this information down for him so he'd be able to pass. 

Said man was running a bit later according to the text message he sent. That was fine with him, all of his own classes were done for the day and he could stay as long as he needed which would be a while. Hopefully Hinata wouldn't mind him being out later, but he probably wouldn't once he found out the reason. The phone was placed off to the side again with the thought that the blond texts just how he speaks: Very elegant and formal. 

The sound of quick footsteps brought him out of his thoughts as he looked up, catching the sight of Leo sitting down in the spot across from him. After shifting in his seat Takumi grabbed his phone and placed it in his pocket. He had a feeling he was going to need all the table space necessary and the device was taking up valuable surface area. 

“Sorry about running late, I lost track of time.” He offered instead of the truth. In reality he almost forgot his physics textbook -which Takumi still needed to borrow for these sessions- in his apartment. He wasn't sure how it almost slipped his mind, maybe because they were changing things up for the day, but he soon came to his senses and had to drive back to his apartment to get it. 

“It's alright.” Takumi easily forgave since it was only by a few minutes. “Here's the study guide.” He said as he turned the small packet around and passed it over to him. Leo picked it up and started to look it over, skimming over the contents of the first page front and back and not doing so well hiding a small frown. 

“What?” 

“I haven't covered any of this with you…” He said with disbelief as he moved on to look over the next page. There was so much he needed to cover to make sure any of this made sense for him. 

“You don't have to rub it in that I'm a dumb ass.” He frowned with crossed arms. Of course he responded defensively, that was the last thing he wanted to hear. He should just save himself the trouble and drop out now. 

A quick shake of his head had Leo trying to explain what he meant. “No, no- I should have covered the material quicker to make sure you were caught up already.” He was suppose to help him and now it was his fault he didn't understand. He was suppose to be a good tutor and this wasn't proving that. There was no time to sit in self pity for either of them though. “When is the test?”

“Monday.” 

So about a week to study. He hummed in thought as he tried to figure out what he could do to help him get up to date and cover this test. “We might have to stay longer today and Thursday.” That would help some even though he wasn't sure how long either of them could stay. 

Takumi nodded his head, also wondering if it was enough time. He needed to have more options just in case. “I should be able to meet up Saturday if you can?” He'd have to cancel some plans with Oboro, but just like Hinata she should understand the reasoning too. 

Leo looked up at him at that, placing the study guide down as he thought over his own schedule. “I… should be able to as well.” It shouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for one little thing. “The library closes early Saturday and it would have to be in the afternoon for me.” Which was when the library was closed, just their luck. “Where would we meet?”

“We could meet at my dorm?” It was on campus so it was close and quiet once he asked his roommate to leave. Besides Leo was way to proper to do nothing less but be respectful in somebody's home, he could already tell. Leo was a bit taken about at how easily the suggestion was made. He never even been in someone else's dorm here before, he didn't know what to expect. He wasn't going to deny an invitation into someone's home though especially when it seemed like an easy option for them. “Is there a problem with that?” He didn't realize he was taking too long to answer until Takumi spoke up once more, looking at him with a raised brow. He didn't think there was anything wrong with offering up his dorm, but it was starting to look like there was. 

Leo quickly composed himself as he finally answered. “No, that's alright. I'll need directions on how to get there; I know little of the dorms.”

“Oh you live off campus?” There were a few other dorm buildings besides his own so it wasn't that surprising he didn't seem him around, but it was still interesting to hear purely for the fact of learning more about him. 

“Yes, in an apartment with two close friends of mine.” Even though Odin and Niles test him everyday he still cares for them. 

“That must help out a lot.” Both pay and keeping up the place. Living off campus sounded nice in the sense that dorms didn't have the most space, but he was still content. The talk and the Saturday plan reminded him of his own roommate, making him pull out his phone to text Hinata how he needed the dorm to himself. 

“Most of the times yes. Some days I wonder if I'm just there to be the name on the lease and clean up after them.” The comment pulled a chuckle from Takumi as he finished up texting Hinata how he needed the dorm to himself on Saturday afternoon. The response was received with a quick and happy okay and a comment to so his best on the test since he included in the text the true reason.

For this time Leo decided to play quick catch up. Maybe some other day they could cover what he was skimming over, but right now he wanted to make sure everything on the test made sense and knew what was being asked before moving onto the actual study guide. He hoped he’d be able to cover some things in the packet today, but there was no need to rush too much so he'd decided it was best to play it as things went along. The physics book was opened and pushed towards Takumi in a signal to start the tutoring. 

There was much less back and forth between the two of them as Leo started the lesson. As long as Takumi could read his own writing for what he was telling him and instructing him, that was all he was currently asking for. Even so, there was still a number of times they stopped with the current pace of things since Takumi needed to ask a question of clarification, but Leo was always happy to provide. They both knew there would be less of these breaks for questions if they were able to go at this at their normal pace, but they would just have to make do.

Even though his words were filled with physics equations and vocabulary, every now and then Leo allowed himself a moment of thought once Takumi was writing down some information. His thoughts were mostly occupied about how invested in the subject he was this time around. During past meetups, the most he looked was mildly amused with spurts of disgruntled mixed in, that emotion being in response to either a certain comment from Leo or a problem giving him trouble. At the moment anything that troubled Takumi right from the start was immediately asked about to get fixed instead of sitting and struggling as he use to.

The thoughts caused a warm feeling to grow inside Leo’s chest, but it was one he was able to easily name. This was his passion- it was exactly what he wished to do with his life- and there was nothing more fulfilling to watch his efforts pay off. This was nothing close to a full fledged teacher in a classroom filled with ready to learn students type experience, but it was close enough to get such a feeling. He wasn’t even aware there was a faint grin on his lips.

After writing down an answer in response to a question the he struggled a bit with, Takumi looked up again to make sure he got it right. The question died in his throat as he saw Leo gently smiling at him. 

“What is it?” He asked with a small tilt of his head. Maybe he really liked physics to lightly grin about it. 

Leo wasn't sure if he could explain the real reason without being teased about it again. There was nothing wrong with the truth he supposed, but it was a bit embarrassing getting so inspired by himself in such a small scaled setting. Immediately the smile he had was gone as he glanced to find a few books on a shelf more interesting. There was no way he could come up with a lie on the spot that was believable, but he could manipulate the truth a bit. 

“You're really passionate about physics today; it's truly inspiring.” That got across his feelings to an extent. Going into depth about it was not needed right now since there was studying that needed to get done. 

He wasn't sure what sort a response he was going to get after Takumi stared at him blankly, but the smile he put on was better than any teasing he thought he would get. He couldn't help but think that way since it happened last time, but he wasn't dwelling on that now since Takumi's easy grin was easy to return with a matching one of his own. 

“I know what these words mean now.” He said with a small chuckle. Leo really was helping him greatly. Sure the fruits of this effort would show once this test happened, but he truly felt he was making improvements. Things were registering in his mind and making sense instead of flying over him now. He could see how it was inspiring considering where he started at. “I hope I get a good grade.”

“You will, I promise you.” It was his duty as his tutor after all. Even if they did need to spend more time together, he’d make sure he would at least get a “B.” While an “A” would be the most optimal, the grade lower was still passing and that was what they were currently looking for. Sure a “C” could work too, but he knew being above average would boost Takumi’s grade and most importantly moral even more. If he truly had the confidence in himself that he could do well in the subject, that should help him just as much as the tutoring. Constantly failing made people lose interest in the subject, Leo believed. Doing well and seeing one’s efforts pay off more often than not kept the person involved in whatever it was they were working for; and in this case it was Takumi and physics.

“I’ll keep you to that.” Takumi’s smile turned more into a little smirk as he pointed the eraser end of his pencil at him.

“You do not need to worry.” Leo waved away the pointed pencil at him with confident tone. He knew this subject through and through and there was no way he was going to fail his first pupil. His grade was also on the line here even if it was for a different class. His own grade aside, he didn’t want to be the reason someone else failed. With a small comment how he wasn’t Takumi looked back down at his notes ready to learn some more. Seeing he was ready, Leo spoke up: “Now, the relation between U, K and E is simple, and is derived from our concepts of work, kinetic energy, and conservative forces…”

With that the session went back to normal with the athlete being enthralled with his notebook as he listened to Leo speak. The interruptions to ask question or double check sometime continued, but there was no more small talk. Takumi was too busy to mind, but the same could be said for Leo. He was quite impressed with himself to be able to talk so easily- or at the least easier than before- if he was allowed to take the time to think about it, but he was currently too enthralled explaining the conservation of mechanical energy. Normally he struggled with this easy talk, but he was slowly getting use to Takumi’s mannerisms to respond casually.

When they came to the end of their normal session time, Leo could confidently say he was caught up enough to comprehend what was needed for the study guide and therefore the test. While there was still some things he had planned to cover according to his original planner before this monkey wrench was thrown in, he was alright with not teaching him a few of the smaller things. They were both quite pleased for different reasons about still getting done on time even though they didn’t mind staying later, but it seemed for now it was not needed.

“Next session we can start working on the study guide.” Leo started as Takumi started to put his things up. “Do you still want to meet up Saturday?” He didn’t think they would get through the whole study guide in the session, but he also didn't think he would get the other updated in just one sitting either. No offense to him and his intelligence, but some people did work at different paces. There were times he got something right away and others where he still needed to work on the same type of problems.

A hum left Takumi as he thought of what was the best thing to do. “Yeah, it's probably for the best.” He decided after a moment. He did already text Hinata he needed the apartment to himself after all and any alone time he had in there he would rather spent out practicing his archery.

“Alright.” It was the responsible choice to have the extra session. Even if they did cover everything Thursday, they could spend the weekend session testing his knowledge to ensure a passing grade on the test. With that they left their table together and started to head out of the library. Walking out together was starting to become habit being that they both used the same exit in order to leave. Neither of them seemed to mind and during the last time Takumi started small talk once again.

Now Leo felt like it was his turn.

Thinking quick he thought over a few ideas as they came out of their little corner of solitude. Once they were out in the more open part of the library, an idea came to mind. “What is it like living on campus?” He could imagine the benefits, but maybe he could learn a little more about it. Besides he wanted to confirm if simply talking to someone about anything other than academics was coming easier to him.

Hearing Takumi respond without missing a beat made him feel better about his socializing; Niles would be so proud. “It’s not that bad honestly. Everything's close and I always get a good parking spot.”

“How lucky.” Leo couldn’t help but interject hearing that information. Most days he got a fairly decent spot, but some days it would be the worst. Nothing would of happened, it would be a perfectly normal day minus that he suddenly had to park in the parking lot farthest away from the majority of his classes. He couldn’t understand it.

“Right?” He said with a smile as he glanced over at Leo before looking forward again. He’s heard many people complain about parking either in person or the form of internet culture and he simply couldn’t relate. He didn’t have a designated spot for only him, but his dorm had a parking garage for the building's residents only so he always had a spot. “Anyway, it's nice, it’s home and I can’t complain too much. I like my roommate, but it can feel a bit cramped with the two of us.” Such as when Hinata did laundry. He always liked to dump his clothes down on the ground and sit to fold everything. Takumi felt he could only stay on his bed to not get in his way and step on a folded stack of clothes.

“Will I be seeing this roommate Monday?” He asked with nothing but curiosity. Takumi seemed to speak well of this roommate from what little he’s heard of him so there was no weariness of meeting someone new.

“Nah, I already told Hinata I need the room empty for a few hours. He shouldn’t bother us.”

“Would that be something he would do?”

A fond, soft laugh came from Takumi. “He wouldn’t, but his music on the other hand…” The sentence trailed off even if it did tell Leo all he needed to know. 

“Ah, sounds like one of my roommates.” To an extent at the least. Odin knew how to listen to music at a reasonable volume, but his games on the other hand were something else. Especially if that game had voice chat.

“Maybe you can tell me more about them sometime.” Takumi stated once they reached the exit needed. Conversation needed to end since it was time to go separate ways. “See ya.” With a wave Takumi turned to go his own way. The gesture was returned before Leo did the same in the opposite direction.

Yeah, he was a natural small talker now.

~!~

Since getting up to date took up all of Tuesday, the Thursday session focused fully on the study guide. Takumi actually looked over his notes once he got home from the first session and Wednesday after his normal classes and archery practice, so he still knew what was going on once they started the actual tutoring. He would have to admit that this time the hour and a half dragged on a lot rougher than it did days before. Applying everything he had learned to the questions given took a lot of back and forth flipping between his notes and Leo’s help, but for the most part he was trying to do it on his own. During the test he wouldn’t have his notebook and he definitely wouldn’t have his tutor, so he thought he should get use to the sudden independence. 

The other was feeling the opposite; he wanted to help Takumi right away so he could know what to specifically look for before going at it on his own. As more sessions went on Leo was able to get more use to his learning style, but now he was being thrown for a loop all because of this test. From his observations the more time the athlete spent on a problem he was struggling with the more frustrated he became, and the more frustrated he became the shorter his temper was. It took a few times to realize it was okay for Leo to interject during those times and help him out with no anger towards him, but now that was starting to change. Every time he tried to help out by stepping in with easy advice he was interrupted with something along the lines of “I can handle it” even though nothing more was being written down as an answer. Each time made Leo’s frown grow before finally he had enough.

“Takumi, please, I’m here to help you. It’s alright to let me do so.” Nothing stopped him before, yet suddenly he was back to square one in the plan of reading Takumi.

Amber eyes looked up from the paper in the form of a glare from having his jumbled train of thought ruined yet again from him interpreting. His look was returned with a scowl and for the first time since these meetups began has there been a showdown of stubbornness. Normally whenever Takumi was being defiant Leo would give in with a soft sigh as he went back to doing whatever he originally was -such as writing ugly or solving a few things in a roundabout way- but this time he seemed to be holding his ground.

“You won’t be around to help me during the test.” So he was getting use to the feeling, therefore he should still let him do things his way and then go over everything he got wrong like he wanted to do. Of course that wasn’t Leo wanted to do though.

“This isn’t the test though, Takumi. This is a mere study guide that I’m suppose to help you through. If you wish to do a mock up test of your own, we can do that Saturday.” They should both get what they want that way, just Leo’s way sooner since it was the most logical one -then again he may be biased in favorite of himself. The other turned his gaze back towards his paper, thinking for a moment before looking back over at Leo. He still had the scowl in his brown eyes, intent to still have a presence in this battle and to not give in like usual. That meant it was sadly his turn to take the submissive role.

“Ugh, fine.” He gave in with a grumble. Maybe he was trying to prove himself too early, but he thought he’d be able to after Tuesday went so well. With those words Leo’s own glare turned into a content smile as if it was in that expression to begin with.

“Great, then on Saturday we can study however which way you wish to. Is that alright?” There might be things that Leo would want to suggest changes too, but he would worry about that when the day came. “And afterwards, I can give you some tips to help you remember everything once you review Sunday.”

“I have to go over this Sunday too?” That was so many days devoted to one subject. The question caused the blond’s expression to blank as he stared at him. Was… was it a serious question?

“This is why you’re failing.”

“... Alright fine I’ll study Sunday.” 

“Good.” Leo quickly recovered. He was close to apologizing for his sudden bluntness, but his agreement to do as asked beat him to it. No time to dwell, he had a student to help get a passing grade here. “Let me see what you’ve got done, please?” He asked as he held his hand out. The notebook was passed over to him and he started to look over it .Before he could say anything that came to mind, Takumi once again beat him to it.

“I’m keeping that answer for the mock test.” He sounded so determined. So sure of himself. How misplaced.

“It’s wrong though.”

“...Fuck…”

The session thankfully turned more in Leo’s favor as he told him where he went wrong and what was the right ways to go about the problem. Even though he was at first completely against the flow, Takumi listened and followed along to Leo as he was suppose to do. There were still many mental bumps and bruises as Takumi bumbled through the rest of the session. They managed to make it a bit more than halfway through the packet before needing to call it quits. They were over time by a good thirty minutes, but it felt like much longer. It was safe to say that the athlete wasn’t feeling as confident about the test as he was before today, but there was no need to as it showed on his face as he started to put his things up.

Leo, now the expert small talker after one (1) completely successful time with Takumi, decided to try and make him feel better.

“Today was rough-”

“Yeah, no shit.”

And already he, the ex-expert small talker after one (1) completely successful time with Takumi, was already faltering on what to say next because he did not expect to interrupted like that out of nowhere. Maybe he wasn’t out of nowhere, but the words he knew he wanted to say next after that sentence starter were suddenly gone. He didn’t even know where he was going to go with that anymore, but he did know he had to think of something quick.

“It’s alright though,” good start, trying to ease the distaste, “we were behind, but now after really looking through the guide, we know what we’re dealing with.” He sounded confident, like had had everything all planned out, but in reality his thoughts were a jumbled mess. Were his words working? Takumi’s expression was hardly changing so he couldn’t tell at all. He needed to keep his voice level so he wouldn’t pick up on the worry. “Saturday will go much smoother.”

There was still a pause as Takumi looked at him, wondering if he was telling the truth for a moment before giving in with a small sigh.

“If you say so.” 

Mission success.  

~!~

Leo stared down at the text on his phone, making sure the right building name the message held was the same one as the building in front of him. With that double checked he also made sure he was at the correct entrance before texting Takumi that he was waiting outside. A key card was needed to enter the building, and being that he wasn’t residing here, he naturally didn’t have one. That level of security was neat, he’d admit that much. It would sure make a lot of doting parents less worried over the safety of their child.

The wait wasn’t long as soon he saw Takumi coming out of an elevator to come to the door which he was thankful for. The day was nice so he wasn’t left suffering in any weather, but they had a lot to cover today and he didn’t want to waste any time. He didn’t know how long Takumi’s roommate was out and he didn’t want him to feel like he was intruding on anything. The door was pushed open and the athlete spoke up.

“Glad you didn’t get lost.” It was said with a teasing smile as he kept the door open for him. 

“It wasn’t that hard to find.” He said as he stepped through the open door. It was left to close on his own behind him as he started to follow him up to the elevator.

“I sure hope not, the building's huge.” Although directionally challenged would be an interesting trait for him to have since he would never imagined he would possess it. 

“Must get pretty crowded.” He meant in the hallways and what not, but Leo didn’t get the chance to specify as he was looking around the elevator. There was nothing special about it minus the floor count, but it was relatively low. 

“It does get busy every now and then, but nothing too extreme besides sometimes needing to take the stairs.” He had a personal capacity limit that was much smaller than what the elevator recommended, making there occasionally be days he found no need to torture himself. Besides there was nothing wrong with taking the stairs every now and then since he was only on the third floor. The doors opened and any response of Leo left him as curiosity took over. He didn’t know what to expect once he was in a dorm room, but his imagination could never come close to the real thing. He looked about the few doors they passed, noticing all had the names of each resident with some having a few decorative things. Nothing was too extravagant and that made it even more fascinating. He stopped moving once Takumi did, noticing the door they stopped in front of had the athlete’s name and some other that sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. The door was unlocked and he stepped aside for his visitor to enter first.

Just like the halls, he wasn’t sure what to expect inside an actual dorm room. It was quite simple with two beds pushed against opposite walls with small accommodating desks kept close by. There was more decoration in here than there was outside, but it was split in a way that made it possible for him to tell which side was Takumi’s. While one side had a few small posters of a few bands he knew nothing about, the other held a handful of medals hung up on the wall with a trophy sitting next to what he could assume was a family portrait. 

“I told you it’s pretty small.” Leo stopped his observations to look at Takumi who was currently walking towards his desk to grab the usual things he needed.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. It looks very nice.” Very neat and put together, but lived in if the messed up beds were anything to go off of. He didn’t mind it wasn’t cleaned from top to bottom for his visit, but he did have the small problem of not knowing where they were going to sit down to go over the guide.

Notebook and things in hand, Takumi finally turned around to see Leo awkwardly standing in the middle of the room unsure where he belonged. “You can sit if you want.” He didn’t need to stand so out of place, it made him feel like a bad host. Making himself at home since it was his dorm, Takumi went into his normal study spot on his bed with his back against the wall. The idea the blond had was to sit in the chair that was next to the athlete's desk, but that a bit far from where Takumi currently was sitting.

“On… the bed?”

“Just take your shoes off.” It was said so casually since that’s where he thought he was going to sit. He was too busy looking at his own notebook to notice Leo’s internal struggle. Was it really ok with there being a desk right there? Sure it was too small for the two of them at one desk, but maybe they could move the two of them closer? There must be reasons why that wasn’t suggested so he didn’t speak of it either.

Doing as he asked, Leo pulled his shoes off and placed them to the side where he hoped was out of the way. He found himself a spot on the corner of the bed before pulling out his own things. It was weird studying on a bed, especially someone else’s, but he wasn’t going to let that affect him as he got the physics book and his own notebook out. 

The placement was a little weird to Takumi and he wasn’t sure if it was comfortable sitting on the far corner, but he didn’t have time to think about that. Right now he had a test to worry about.

Once there were both comfortable the session started. As promised on Thursday, Takumi was allowed to do things his way and treat the guide like a mock test, but not until before he went through a quick review with Leo. He didn't mind it; even though he did study on Wednesday a bit in the sense of looking over his notes again, the fresh review was a big help since he felt he would go in with a better mindset. 

With that over with, the mock test started with confirmation that Takumi was ready for it. The athlete flipped through a few blank pages to be far away from his notes and Leo took a vow of silence. He could do that no problem, he was normally a quiet person as is. Although now he might struggle a bit once he would want to help him, but he promised he wouldn't as he went through the guide questions on his own. The packet was a few pages long, but that was partly because the questions had a lot of information and illustrations that went with it to help. Problem wise, there wasn't that many so it shouldn't take too long especially since he should know what he was doing now. 

Giving nothing to do, Leo watched the paper as numbers and notes were written down. He’d be able to judge Takumi’s process and be able to see anything in real time that he wished to bring up once he finished instead of looking over the notebook in his own hands. Of course there were some things he would have to double check by seeing what the question was for again, but he's remembered quite a bit of the packet since they started going over it. So far he seemed to be handling the first question well. He was proud of him. 

Soon his spot at the corner was uncomfortable and he started to shift around. The other didn't look up from where he was since he was too busy writing down equations that made sense, but he did move his feet to tuck under himself to give the other some space. With his back resting against the adjacent wall they sat perpendicular to each other and Leo wasn't sure why he didn't move sooner- the back support felt wonderful. 

When there was something he wasn't entirely sure was right or wrong he shifted his gaze, now focusing more on the other’s body language since he was always so expressive without even knowing it. His brows would merge together and his shoulders would shift once he struggled with something as if he was trying to size up the question to fight it, but once he got an answer his shoulders would ease even if it he still held a concentrated look on his face. Whenever there was a question he easily got, a hint of a smirk could be seen on his lips. 

The expressions were mesmerizing to watch with how amusing they were. Leo wondered if anyone else noticed them, but if not he was alright being the only one with such interesting knowledge. Occasionally there were pauses where Takumi would just stare at his paper and twirl his pen, deep in thought over what to do next. Those times the blond wanted to speak up, but he managed to suppress the urge and keep mute. The pauses thankfully didn’t last for more than a few seconds; it would be really hard not to say anything if they lasted as long as they did on the first session.

The first session felt like such a long time ago even though it wasn’t, but maybe it felt that way since Takumi was showing fast improvement.

With a few final quick strokes of the pen it was clicked shut as Takumi straightened his back from where he was starting to hunch over his notebook. A sigh left him as he ran a hand though his bangs, letting them fall back on his head with a small shake so they could move closer to their original place on his forehead.

“Finished?” Leo asked since he was sure acting like it, sighing and relaxing as he was.

“Yeah; how’d I do?” He asked as he passed both the notebook and study guide over to him. He thought he did fairly well for the mock up. Sure there were some he was positive he got wrong, but he sure made an attempt at them which was the best he could do. He still thought he got a majority of them right through which would be the best outcome. With both items out of his hand he started to shift from his spot. He wanted to be closer in order to see what he got right or wrong.

The notebook was settled in his lap as Leo looked over the questions. He had to reread them to make sure Takumi provided what it was looking for just to be sure. He was partially through the first question once he started to dip a bit on the mattress with weight being distributed. Brown eyes looked over at the other since he was mostly likely the reason for the movement, only to see him move closer to his own spot. Leo felt the need to adjust himself to give him the space, but he wasn’t given the chance as Takumi made himself at home, content in his new place.

Nothing was said as Leo looked over at him, but the gaze wasn’t met since he was honed in on his own notebook once again, possible looking for a mistake himself or second guessing himself on a part. Their knees were touching, but it didn’t seem to bother him. It made Leo unsure if he could move to make it stop.

He ended up not, opting to stay in his place before clearing his throat. He needed to get reviewing already before Takumi tries to snatch his notebook back out of his lap to rewrite something. The way his eyes widened a bit made Leo feel like he found something and was about to.

“You got the first one correct.” He started, leaving it as is since there was nothing to fix. Takumi couldn’t help but pat himself on the back in the form of a smug smile. He knew he got that one right, but hearing the confirmation made it all the better. A few more questions were reviewed and confirmed as correct before the first mistake was stumbled upon.

“There’s a small mistake here. The 100 J of original mechanical energy is present at each position. So the KE for A is 50 J. You put five and it made all your calculations incorrect. Also its velocity squared in the Kinetic energy formula.” An easy mistake and one he would need to make sure to avoid once he was taking the real test.

“Ah, shit.” He thought something was off with that question, but he ended up moving on to not get to hold up on it. Leo told him once that the first answer he got was normally the correct one and he shouldn’t overthink and doubt himself. For the most part that advice rang true, but there were some instance that it wasn’t. “Let me get a different colored pen for you to mark it.” That way he would know to look over that question and ones like it more Sunday. As much as he complained about it, he was determined to still take time out of tomorrow to sit down with the packet since he was planning on passing with nothing lower than an “A.”

Takumi got off the bed and the spot on Leo’s knee was suddenly left cold now that it was open to the air around him. It wasn’t even chilly in the room, Takumi was simply a heater. Said man made his way to his own desk and started to rummage through a drawer, finding what he was looking for in the form of a red pen. It was handed over to the other before he climbed back onto bed back into his original spot, this time with a bit of space in between them. That was fine.

Leo adjusted the pen in his hands to remove the cap and start to write, explaining as he did. “As i was saying the KE for A is 50 J.The PE at the same stairstep is 50 J, which would go in spot C and thus the KE is also 50 J -part D.” As he spoke he was pointing to where they would go in the missing parts of the questions, filling it in on his own since it was easier to do himself. The other parts of the question were filled since they were marked wrong in the silly mistake he made before he came to the final part that he needed to finish. He wouldn’t fix the next part though, that was something Takumi would need to figure out on his own. “Now, we need the formula for kinetic energy which is?”

“One half mass times velocity… squared.” He always forgot that stupid little two, but this time he didn’t. He’ll have to keep it in mind for the actual test.

“Correct, now we need the velocity formula which is?”

“Distance over time.” 

“Wonderful; therefore keeping that in mind and the Kinetic energy formula, the answer we need for parts B, E, H, and K would be?”

No answer came right away, but he didn’t expect one since a calculator was needed. Takumi grabbed his own from where it rested where he was sitting at the start. He pulled it closer to him, putting in the formula from what he was told and and the mass which was given in the question. Just in case it was needed, Leo adjusted his hold on the study guide to angle it closer to the other to look over. 

“Part B and E would be… 7.07 M over S.” The blond looked at his calculator, seeing he put everything in the right away and answering with a confirming “right.” A smile appeared of Takumi’s face as the correct answer was written in red for him.

“And then H and K would be 10 M over S.” Another check over the calculator, another confirmation that it was right, and a smile that grew at the corners.

Takumi always got so happy whenever he got a question right, especially if it was one he was struggling with. He was like a puppy being asked “who’s a good boy” and it made that warm feeling flutter within Leo even more. Amber eyes would shine bright with praise and confidence as he was ready to tackle the next problem, but his smile didn’t vanish at all. He knew he was going to pass his test, getting a tutor was a great idea that he wished he invested in sooner. Maybe he wouldn’t of gotten Leo if he did, but surely all the tutors that could of been available would of been helpful. Takumi was still content with the one he got though since he could tell he was improving.

This close Leo could see Takumi had a dimple on the left side when he smiled.

Leo pushed away the weightless feeling inside him, moving onto the next question which he also concluded was right. The pattern continued on with the only breaks being a few other questions he got wrong, but were able to fix. Some were just silly mistakes that came with not thinking through completely like with the first wrong answer, but there was only one that was done completely wrong. Takumi admitted it was the one he was hesitating with, but there was nothing wrong with that as Leo helped him through it with instructions on the correct way. That question had the most red ink, but it would be a bold reminder for Takumi to go over it again and again. Leo even suggested looking up questions similar to it online to practice with, and even though it meant more work, the athlete didn’t want to go in knowing he was going to get a question wrong so he agreed to the idea.

They still had some time left and had finished going over the study guide, but Takumi was determined to know everything that was involved like the back of his hand and asked to go over it again. Leo agreed to the idea, but on a condition to change things up. He wanted Takumi to retain the information as well, not just go off muscle memory which would come with answering the same exact question over and over again. In the same vein of doing flashcards for vocabulary, Leo would ask for the formula of some word and Takumi would have to provide it, occasionally mixing it up with giving the formula and asking what it was there to find. When it seemed like he got the hang of that, he started to add story such as a ball rolling down a hill for a certain distance weighing a certain amount and needing the velocity. Such questions needed the calculator again, but the biggest thing he was looking for was making sure he knew what to do to find the answer.

As it continued, Takumi was able to respond with the correct answer with little to no moments of silence minus the time needed to jab something into the calculator, and each approval seemed to boost Takumi’s ego a bit. That was fine with Leo, the confident smile, the bright eyes and the willingness to learn was appeasing to Leo. It was preferred, it made him feel warm inside, almost as warm as Takumi was when he was against his leg. 

Staring.

This time the bad habit didn’t last for long as they both quickly looked towards the front of the room. The front door started to shiver as the doorknob was being manipulated, finally opening up to reveal a brown haired student.

“Hey I’m ba- oh sorry am I interrupting?” 

Hinata stepped inside the room before stopping where a few feet from the entrance, a bit surprised to see two people in the room still.

“I told you I needed the room for a few hours.” The smile on Takumi’s face was gone and replaced with a small pout. Leo missed it. He really shouldn’t miss it. 

“I did! I even gave you double the time than ‘a few hours.” Hinata said as he imitated him in his own defense, already making himself at home by placing his wallet and keys on his own desk before flopping onto the other bed.

“Wait, how long have we’ve been studying?” This time Takumi turned to Leo with a confused look and all the blond could honestly provide as an unknowing shrug. Thankfully Hinata came in with the correct answer.

“At least four and a half hours.” He’s been gone for about thirty minutes before Leo showed up if he arrived on time and they kept at it. When he was told a few hours, he honestly thought one or two, but he was having too much fun going on a date night with Oboro that he sort of lost track of time too. When he had to part ways with her for the day did he realize he gave Takumi ample amount of time and decided to come back. He didn’t realize he needed even more.    


“Four-!” Immediately Takumi got up and grabbed his phone from where it was left charging on his desk, making the home screen pop up to see how much time has passed and the notifications he missed leaving it on do not disturb mode. He didn’t think he’d be able to sit down and study for that long, yet he did no problem.

Leo took the shock in a different way, blinking wide eyed for a moment as he spared a glance out the window. There wasn’t much to see with the blinds in the way, but he could see enough that the sun was done. He hated driving in the dark, but there wasn’t much choice.

“Hey Leo, by the way.” While Takumi was doing something on his phone, Leo’s attention was brought back to Hinata who decided to give a belated greeting with a friendly wave and smile. It was returned with a softer greeting of his own, but it was thankfully heard. So that’s why the name Hinata sounded familiar, he’s heard it multiple times in his English class. Most specifically, hearing it be yelled to put away the cell phone that he tends to pull out every other lecture.

“I’m sorry for keeping you so long.” Takumi spoke up again as he turned to Leo, excited puppy smile long gone and replaced with nothing but remorse. Sure he needed help with physics, but he felt not enough to keep him to himself into night. What if he had plans afterwards? Leo definitely was the type to remember something like that he felt so surely he would of said something. 

“No, no- it’s alright.” Leo was quick to ease since he didn’t like that expression on Takumi either. He preferred the smile, the openly happy at his compliments that caused that feeling-

Not now. 

Not ever.

“I’ll walk you out?” Takumi suggested even though he was already grabbing his room key to do so. Leo wasn’t going to say no to the request. Thankfully Leo didn’t have much stuff so it was all stuffed into his bag minus his car keys and phone before he slipped on his shoes. Hinata gave a friendly, energetic goodbye and that he’ll see him in English as Leo followed the other out the door and it was returned with a much more refined parting. With the door to the room shut and the two of them in the halls, they started to head towards the elevator again.

“Sorry again, I really didn’t think the time would go that fast.” Takumi apologized again as he poked the right button to call the elevator.

“It’s okay; really.” If the first time didn’t get rid of his worry, he was more that willing to try again. This time he would go above and beyond because he wanted him to smile his way some more. “I didn’t realize it was getting so late either.” It seemed to be working, he now had a look of uncertainty instead of concern. More was needed, he wanted to give more, he needed that look gone already. “We went over so much today, so it was time well spent.” The look was gone, but the smile still wasn’t back. More.

“I hope it wasn’t all for waste.” He would feel even worse going through all of that just to fail.

“It won’t be. You’ve been getting the hang of physics so well as of late. All of your efforts will amount to you passing the test. I promised you, didn’t I?” The little question at the end was asked with a tilt of his head and light tone, trying a different approach to get what he needed. The doors opened to the bottom floor as he was being lead to exit the building.

“You did; better not go back on that promise.” It was said with a small grin which was nice, but not what Leo completely wanted. He would still take it though, it might be the best he could get.

“I would never dream of it.”

The door was pushed opened and they both stepped out into the night, but they didn’t walk anywhere else. That was alright, he didn’t need to be walked back to his car. Leo didn’t want to leave just with that, but he wouldn’t be satisfied with just a goodbye either. Wait why wouldn’t he-

“Wish me luck?” Takumi asked, letting some of the nerves show. He couldn’t help it, he was doing everything he could to make sure his grade improved and he wouldn’t know what to do if he failed this test. At the least, it wasn’t anything big like a midterm, but it would still take a nice little chunk out of his already low grade if he failed it. The question was asked with a weak expression, hand raised, fingers held together in a loose fist. It took a moment for Leo to realize he wanted a fist bump, but he could do one better.

“You’re going to pass, I know it. You put forth so much effort into studying for this test that it’s going to amount to something, it has to. Just keep a leveled head, don’t second guess yourself, and remember what all we covered. On Tuesday you may flaunt your aced test all session if you want to, alright?” the last sentenced was punctuated in that little fist bump Takumi was originally going for accommodated with a smile, a tilt of his head, and a wink. 

It was the smoothest he’s been and ever will be in his life.

The athlete didn’t expect the pep talk, face going slack in awe as he was told everything he needed to hear. His hand dropped once he felt the other’s knuckles against his, but it didn’t stay there for long as he brought his hand up once again to not only cover a snicker, but to also partially hide a growing pink blush. “It’ll probably be more on Thursday instead of Tuesday,” looking away towards some shrubbery, Takumi moved to cross his arms. Even though not to that extent, he really should of expect the praise since Leo was always willing to give it, “but I’ll keep you to that.” Finally he looked over at him once again, smile sincere even if it was smaller than the bright one he was looking for. He didn’t care, this look was better, it was adorable, it was-

Bad habit.

“See ya Tuesday.”

The returned farewell came out of Leo’s mouth, but he wasn’t all that aware that he said it. Takumi turned to head back into the student building, hair swaying with each step from where it rested in its low ponytail. The upward spikes that came from his usual up high style were still present in the form of fanning out from the hair tie. It helped it find out that the locks were intentionally cut short at one point even if the rest was left to grow long. He didn’t care about his backside though, he cared about the front. He cared about the dusting of pink bridging across his nose and cheeks and that sincere smile. 

Staring. 

It was the second time he's done it so blatantly; he should apologize already. 

Maybe he should apologize for forming a crush too. 


	6. x²+y²=9

 

This can’t be happening.

He can’t allow this to happen.

Leo made it home to an empty apartment much to his dismay. It was the weekend and his friends had social lives, leaving him to have the whole apartment all to himself. Normally he didn’t mind the peace and quiet, but this time he was hoping for the opposite. Odin was romantically challenged just like him, but in the sense of having multiple girlfriends at different times that lasted a few weeks max before becoming single for a few months and the cycle to start again. He needed Niles and he had no idea where that man could possibly be.

Calm down already.

He leaned against the door in the entryway of his home, letting out a sigh as he slid down to sit on the floor. Maybe he as overthinking this, maybe it wasn’t a crush and he was just being proud of his pupil… wanting him to be proud of himself… wanting to see his smile… enjoying time together and watching how animated he was when expressing himself. Yeah, he was definitely overthinking it. He took a few calming breaths before standing up from his spot, picking up his bag to put it up in his room. Everything was normal, so he needed to go through his normal routine of coming home from the usual, run of the mill study session.

No need to contact Odin or Niles or anyone. Everything was okay.

With his bag put up he made his way to the kitchen to get himself something to eat. It would be a late dinner, but that was alright with him. He wasn’t in the mood to cook right at the moment, but that just meant he could indulge himself in a microwave dinner. After reading the instructions he did as it told and placed it in the microwave for the allotted time. The microwave hummed as it cooked his meal, but eager for the distraction Leo looked around the kitchen to see what else he could do. Getting himself a drink to go with it took all of thirty seconds, but that wasn’t enough.

With not much else to do he sat himself down at the kitchen table and waited. The game he had on his phone was still mild entertainment, but he couldn't get rid of that anxious feeling still ebbing away the corner of his mind. The game was a strategy game with knights and dragons and magic, and even though he knew he needed to concentrate to make sure his units stayed alive, his mind wasn’t completely there. The microwave chimed at the start of the enemy’s turn and he jumped up more abrupt than would be considered natural, but at least no one was around to question him about it.

The food was pulled out of the microwave, stirred, and placed back in for a few more minutes. Mindless things. Mundane things. Don’t think about it.

When he came back to his game much to his displeasure he was one unit down. Damn it was his healer too and she was one of his best units. Veronica may you rest in peace for this one round before coming back. It was his fault for putting her in the wrong place without even realizing it, but then again he would have noticed if he was in the right mindset for this sort of game. At the least, he managed to beat the rest of the enemies in her honor even if his Fjorm also almost died in the process.

This time when the microwave went off he moved at a more natural pace to get his meal. The plastic cover was removed the rest of the way and discarded before he brought the dinner to the table. It wasn’t often he indulged himself, but today would be that day as he decided to watch some random videos that were suggested to him as he ate alone. They passed the time as he finished up his meal and discarded it.

He made himself comfortable on the couch as he enjoyed the rest of the night, not planning on doing much since the session took a lot longer than he expected. He was able to easily relax into the cushions, thankful for the comfortable couch they got since it was very needed. He wasn’t paying too much attention to what was on the television since it was just thoughtless background noise. Mindless, mundane, don’t think about it.

The front door was being messed with and it caused Leo to startle. He wasn’t sure who was coming home nor did he know how to approach them. There was no doubt they would ask about the extra session since he was out with someone instead of being stuck at home or working.

“Hello, hello?” Came the voice of Niles, checking to see if anyone was home.

“Welcome home.”

“How was the tutoring?” Immediately asked as Niles made his way to the living room, wondering how Leo’s first Saturday out with a friend that wasn’t a roommate was.

Leo stiffened in his spot, but he made sure to keep his face neutral. “It was fine. Much longer than I anticipated I must admit.” He could talk about everything else besides his problem, but it would become a slippery slope. He should be able to avoid that though.

“Really? When did you get back?”

Leo checked his phone for the time before giving a rough estimate. “About 30 minutes ago,”

“My I’m impressed.” Niles started, smug look forming. He was planning something. Leo wished he really wasn’t planning something since he knew exactly what it was going to be. He was sure that the feelings were fleeting, just an extra rush of passion since his teaching dream becoming reality, but a teacher shouldn’t be so enthralled with a student’s smile. “Surly you spent some of that time doing something more… _productive_ , yes?” The word rolled off his tongue in the same smooth motion he expected Leo to roll his eyes, but that didn’t come. Instead Leo hunched his shoulders, looked away to hide his flush and mumbled something along the lines of telling him to shut up.

The smug look disappeared entirely as he stared at him slightly agape. As much as he teased him he never expected him to actually do something like that mostly because he didn’t think he had it in him. “Wait, really?” He asked, thinking that he might be pulling some sort of prank on him. They were few and far between, but they do happen and it's been a while. Surly that’s what he was doing.

Instead of turning around and saying that he got him, Leo turtled in on himself even more by covering his face with his hands and hunching over. Yes, really, he didn’t need to be reminded. There was a small pause as Niles looked over his friend, letting it all register and process before being the friend for him. He placed his hand on his upper back, giving it a light pat before moving his hands in small circles.

“What did he say?” He asked next. He still couldn’t believe his friend actually flirted with Takumi like he was suggesting early on, but it wasn’t surprising that he got turned down. The version of the archer Niles knew was quick to do that. Although he supposed it was received and shot down kinder than with himself, it still must be rough on his awkward friend. Leo said something behind his hands, but it was too muffled for him to tell what it was. After asking for a repeat the blond quickly fixed his posture and dropped his hands, staring at a random spot on the coffee table. His face was far more red than it was moments before.

“He didn’t say anything.” He repeated, unsure what that had to do with anything, but still answering.

“See it as a good thing. Try flirting with him again and see how he responds.” Niles responded with a kind smile. It wasn’t the end of the world just because there wasn’t a response. Takumi did seem like the type of person who would play hard to get, so until there was an obvious no he wanted to encourage his friend to keep trying.

“Wha- no I didn’t flirt with him! I already told you I wasn’t going to do that!” Leo pushed off the hand still on his back, now realizing why he asked what Takumi’s response was. There must have been an accidental moment of miscommunication. Niles pulled his hands away, taken aback from the sudden outburst. It was hard to see how he could help his friend when he didn’t know what the problem was. “I didn’t… say anything to him, it's just… I think…” Even though Leo was struggling with his words, Niles didn’t feel the need to rush him. It would come out eventually, even if he did seem like a middle school boy trying to confess to a crush. He supposed that was almost this exact situation though. With a shaking inhale Leo managed to get it all out in the following exhale. “I think I’m starting to like him.”

So an uncertain crush, what fun territory for Niles. “Do you like him?” The first step would be to see if it was serious or not. There was no point in venturing forward if this wasn’t an actual crush, making seeing if it was serious a good place to start.

“I… think so.”

“Why do you think so?” It was probably a predictable mock therapist type of question, but helping guide Leo through a train of thought with asking certain questions normally helped alleviate his worries.

“I… like his smile… and I want to make him smile a lot.” That was the first thing he could think of immediately, but there were a few other things. “His laugh is… pleasing and when he gets excited about things I… I don’t know.”

To Niles this sounded like an open and shut case, but he decided to not say anything like that yet. It’s not a crush until you use them as alone time material after all, but he knew people use different systems to see if the crush was real or not than the odd one the white haired man thought of. Besides, with all of his teasing Leo was adamant not to make this a date, but now the opposite was happening. Instead of saying he told him so he said what he knew he wanted to hear.

“Why don’t you play it out as it goes along; see if those feelings stick around or if its a one time thing, you know? If they don’t then you’re going to feel stupid about all this, and if they do we will go down that road when it comes about.” A plan would be preferred, but some things just can’t have one. It was the best that could be done at the moment. Leo was silent as he thought over what he was told. There didn’t seem to be many options for him to choose from. Part of him still wished this wasn’t happening. It made things complicated.

“If it is real I’ll get too attached… the sessions will get uncomfortable.”

“Please, you act like I don’t know you. You’re going to keep those feelings to yourself as you keep the professional facade. Remember your last boyfriend?”

Leo scrunched his nose at the thought since he really wouldn’t like to. Even though it was all the way back in junior year of high school, it ended so poorly he’d rather leave it and that man in the past. He did know why Niles brought it up though, he did managed to act the same around him before realizing there was mutual feelings and started their relationship. Maybe he’ll be able to do that again with this new possible interest.

“I don’t even know if he likes men.”

“You’ll find out as you go along.”

“How?”

“By seeing how he reacts to your flirting, of course.”

A pause with a flat look. Niles will take it over the troubled expression he had on before any day.

“You flirt with him and he hates it.”

“That’s because he hates me period so it doesn’t count.”

That was definitely true, but he gave no response to it. He wasn’t really the best on this flirting thing to begin with, but he didn’t say anything like that since it was obvious. He wasn’t going to ask Niles for that sort of help either since he’d have to work on his own natural charm which he didn’t have to begin with. It was going to be a rough journey, but one he was going to need to take if these feelings were true.

“Thank you, Niles. You’ve helped me so much.” In this instance, in general, all of it.

“Someone has to look out for you.”  He reached out towards him again and ruffled his hair, purposely pushing away the headband so it would fall forward and cover his eyes. With his vision blocked Leo waved away the offending hand to fix the headband, only offering a huffed laugh to show he was in a better mood.

Now the only thing he had to worry about is what to do about Tuesday.

~!~

Sadly, the Tuesday meeting didn’t happen. A call from his little sister told him that Xander was in town and that they all needed to meet up right away. Leo was able to after his classes, but he did text Takumi right after the call that he wouldn’t be able to meet up. The other didn’t mind and responded with an alright and that he would see him Thursday. Both of them were alright with that, but for different reasons. Takumi was thankful for the break right after taking the test and it gave Leo more time to think over the best way to suppress these feelings. He was able to easily do so once he was with all three siblings, it’s been far too long since he’s seen them all in person. It was a shame they needed to part ways on Wednesday with Xander needing to head back home many hours away, but there was promised of the next get together being sooner which they were all looking for.

When Thursday came, Leo was ready for the session and to suppress any emotion that he could be feeling that wasn’t platonic. He didn’t think of the other that way at all the past two days so surely it was only a momentary fling. He was probably reading that “passion of being a teacher feeling” wrong at that moment. No teacher would naturally want their student to be upset over anything.

Leo arrived early and was holding their spot for them as usual. No one had stolen the table from them yet nor occupied the other two, but this section of the library has become their own and he didn’t want to see that changed. He’s grown fond of their meeting spot.

A few minutes later he could hear footsteps come towards him, making him glance up to see who it could be even though he had a feeling he knew who it was. It wasn’t a surprise to note it was Takumi, but seeing his head down caused Leo’s heart to thump against his chest. The other’s posture was one of defeat. He didn’t like it, it wasn’t the look of someone who passed a test. He expected him to come speed walking (they were still in a library after all) at him with a radiant smile and bright eyes. He was ready to hold his hands and congratulate him on the passing grade, showering him with well deserved praise and-

Not now.

Nothing was said as Takumi sat down across from him, placing the paper face down and sliding it over to Leo. With the paper out of his hands, Takumi laid his arms on the table, hiding his face in his elbow and still staying mute.

It was easy for Leo to conclude that something was wrong, but he was hesitating to see how wrong it was. Already he wanted to apologize to him, but he supposed whatever grade he ended up getting would change how much he had to express his sorrow. The paper was flipped around and immediately Leo looked for the grade, face following once he saw the score of a 64 over 100.

“I’m… so sorry, Takumi.” He said softly, unsure it would even be heard from the other. There was no movement, making it hard for him to tell. Leo wished there was a sign that everything was alright or that he would at least acknowledge the apology, but there was nothing. Brown eyes shifted down to see what sort of questions the test held. The first two were quite similar to those from the study guide and he was pleased to see that he got them right, but the next one caused his brows to merge together. He wasn’t going to say anything until he looked through it all. There were more questions that he did get right that they covered together, but there was still a reason why he got a lower score than he promised. After looking through it all the paper was placed down with the grade facing upwards, but now instead of feeling mostly regretful he felt disgruntled.

“Most of this wasn’t on the study guide.” Leo said with a frown as he looked over at Takumi who was still hiding his face.

“That’s what I said!” Finally Takumi looked up, glare set towards the test as he spoke in a harsh whisper. As much as he wanted to yell out his rage, he managed to refrain for now. Head now up he moved to rest one of his elbows against the table, cheek resting in his palm. “Professor even had the audacity to ask me if I got a tutor like I said I did. Of course I did! Why would I lie over something like that!?” His voice was raising in volume slowly, but Leo was quick to sooth him to keep his voice down. There was no need to yell in a quiet place.

“It’s alright,” Leo started, reaching out to gently tap his elbow to catch his attention. It was all the touch that was needed as the other looked at him so he pulled his hand away. It was too light to feel any warmth, “we’ll go over what was missed and we can see where you are in the book. No more catch up, we need to get you on the correct track right now. Everything’s fine so please do not yell in the library; someone might kick us out.”

Takumi turned his glare towards him, but after meeting his soft pleading gaze the harsh ones melted away quickly. He gave in with a sigh. There was no need to get mad at Leo since it wasn’t his fault, but he couldn't help but feel defeated over this failure. He really was in the red zone now. His next test absolutely had to be an A in order to still be safe. “Sorry.” He muttered out.

A weak smile replaced the concerned look of Leo, hoping it would be returned. It wasn’t, but neither was the gaze as the other kept his eyes on the test deep in thought. As much as he’d like to see the smile return he had business to attend to and kept his disappointment to himself. “Shall we begin?”

“Can’t wait to see just how stupid I am.”

“Please stop saying that.” Takumi finally looked up to meet his gaze, wondering what was with that tone of voice. He couldn’t help being so negative, he felt like he was failing no matter what he was doing to try and help himself. He hasn’t been in a good mood since he got the graded test back Wednesday and going over it again to see his idiotic mistakes was something he felt wasn’t going to make things better for him. He was ready to move on, but he was caught up. Normally when he had a moment of self deprecation Leo would curb it with a calm tone how it wasn’t true and an ease expression, but now he looked trouble and his words were strained. He wanted to ask why, yet it didn’t come out.

“Fine, we can go over it.” Takumi ducked his head, not wanting to see that face anymore.

“We can cover the test quickly.” Just in case something showed up later on that they must keep in mind. “Then we may move onto following along with your class, is that alright?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

From there they went through each wrong problem together. Takumi’s mood was hardly improving, but at least there wasn’t anymore lashing out or degrading of his self image which was what Leo was thankful for. The questions that were wrong were concepts they haven’t covered yet and there were some things to know parts of the question, but he as quick to answer any questions that he had. There wasn’t the same enthusiasm from Saturday, but he wasn’t sure how he could fix that. As easy as physics was for himself, he didn’t find it to be the most entertaining subject out there. Even so the session lacked the usual energy that the previous ones use to have. Takumi was staring with boredom in his eyes at his papers as he was correcting work to understand the concepts, but Leo wasn’t sure if he was really absorbing the information. He ended up not asking. Suddenly he didn't know how.

The session came to an end with not much being said as they started to pack up their belongings. Even as they walked towards the exit of the library together there was a lingering silence. Leo had no idea what to say, nothing coming to mind besides another apology. There was no way he could say that again, but what else could he do to possibly make him happy? He wasn’t given a chance, they were already at where they part ways.

“See you Tuesday?” Leo asked, hoping that the meet ups would still happen. He wasn’t sure why, but there was a sudden worry that Takumi wouldn’t want to since he failed that test. He hoped that wasn’t the case, his crush on him was confirmed and he wasn’t sure how to keep in contact if these sessions ended.

This time Takumi was able to pick up on his mood when he looked over, smiling at him with his calm grin. “Yeah, see ya then.” That was all that was said before he walked off, leaving Leo standing there for a moment wondering what he could do.

The question jumped around his mind the full drive home, as he made it up the stairs, and as he allowed himself into the apartment. He could hear voices taking as he let himself in, the conversation coming to an end once they heard the door.

“Welcome home!” The usual greeting came, the most prominent voice belonging to Odin. The greeting wasn't given a response as Leo followed the voice, making his way into the kitchen where he heard them from. At the kitchen table sat his two roommates, Niles’ side of the table being rather clean as the other blond’s side was filled with papers. He wasn't bothered seeing what they specifically were, he had a question on his mind.

“How do I make physics fun?” Leo asked as he placed his hands down on the table, gaze darting between his two friends who were staring at him blankly. When nothing was said Leo gave up with a sigh and sat down in the open seat.

“Session didn't go well I take it?” Niles asked since talking about that would be more interesting than listening to Odin complain about Math and girls. It started out as the former and he had no idea how it turned into the latter, but it sure did.

“Not at all… Takumi failed the test we've been studying for.” He admitted as he laid his head on his hand with his elbow resting on the table. “The study guide didn’t cover half of everything on the test. We went over what he got wrong and he wasn’t as enthusiastic as he was before.” Sure the Saturday session was the most animated he’s been in regards to the subject, but today it seemed like he couldn't care less. He wasn’t sure how the next session would go, but he was growing worried Takumi wouldn't want to meet up anymore. He didn’t want to think about it. “I don’t want him to drop me just after that.” He could understand why he would, but he still wish it wouldn’t go that way. At the least he’ll see him Tuesday, but who knows if he’ll see him the Thursday afterwards.

“We can’t have that, especially if you haven't figure out your feelings yet.” Niles hummed, looking at his friend. He honestly had no idea how to make learning fun, learning wasn’t fun unless it was a new sexual technique. It was a bit too soon to suggest that to Leo sadly enough. Leo didn’t say anything to that, but he did duck his head to hide his face and growing red blush. “That seems to confirm it.” At least that was covered.

“Wait, what?” Odin, who didn’t know about this development, stared between the two of them before coming to a conclusion. “You're going out with Takumi? That's amazing!”

“I'm not!” Before he got to hear the speech how he was happy for him he interrupted his friend. He didn't need it since he was still single. “We're not dating! It's just… I'm sort a…”

“In love?” Odin, not really paying attention to the first part of not dating since it seemed like a possibility. He's never heard much of this Takumi person minus what Leo has told him since Niles never brought his flirting with teammates and strangers stories home. If he did, he would never stop talking.

“I… wouldn't go that far, but…” He mumbled, still not making eye contact since the concept of love caused his blush to redden. He never thought about saying he was in love since he's just developed these feelings rather recently. He didn't pick up his sentence from where it trailed off in hopes they understood where it was going. There was silence between the trio as they thought it out, but it wasn't one that lasted for a long time as Odin decided to be the sensible one.

“Maybe he was just in a bad mood over failing the test?” The other blond asked as he looked over, figuring that might be a good place to start. “I know I would be if it was one I studied really hard for.”

“That may be true, but… what if it persists?” And then he was back to square one of not wanting him to drop the tutoring.

“Why not make it a date?” Niles suggested with a devious grin.

“I'm not-!”

“Hush now my little sweet pea let me explain.” Niles heard it all before and couldn't care to hear it again until he got his idea out. If Leo was still in the same mindset then he'd allow it, but for now it was his turn to talk. “Just talking about equations and what not gets so boring, so why not get a little more involved?” Leo remained silent, not sure where he was going with it or if he trusted the direction to begin with. This was Niles after all. “Get out of wherever you're studying; see the world together and shove physics in it somewhere. And when you're finally together, you can shove your-”

“Don't talk about such matters!” He knew where he was going and was not about to think of Takumi in such a way.

“Oh? So you're a bottom now? Interesting~”

“Be quite!”

“Hey that's a great idea!” Odin finally spoke up after watching the back and forth. “I'm sure getting two physics classes would be really boring, so why not spice it up a bit! Go outside and study; change it up!”

Odin’s version sounded much better mostly because it didn't involve provocative ideas. Leo thought about it as he was recovering for the torturous onslaught of Niles, wondering if it would really work.

“I… suppose I could try it out.” He muttered once he finally found his voice again. It didn't sound like a bad idea after all, and the fresh air did sound like a nice plus. The only problem was that he wasn't sure if they could find the same solitude as their library spot. “I might try it out the session after the next.” He wasn't sure if he should so right away since he had to see if Takumi was in a better mood come Tuesday. He did hope something as small as that would make everything better though.

“Yeah! Now tell me about the crush, I wanna hear it all!”

“N-No!”

“But I missed part of it!!” Odin whined. Niles was able see it all go down so why couldn't he get a recap? He felt left out.

“You have homework to do so get to it already.” Leo was quick to try and distract him since he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Besides homework was far more important than what was going on in his life. Sadly it didn't seem like he was able to get it his way.

“Aww, but I want to hear your confession of how you want to always make him happy again. It was so sweet.” Maybe there was more to it now that this crush was all but real.

“That is so sweet.” Odin agreed, hand over his heart and looking like he was swooning himself.

“Ugh.” The groan left Leo as he got up from his spot. They were starting to test his nerves, but at least he wasn't walking away with nothing. He did get some helpful advice he would have to keep in mind.

“Wait! Don't go! I need help with the math!” Odin tried to call out to his friend as he grabbed two random pieces of paper to swing around to show he was struggling. They were moving too fast for him to see what they actually were.

“Figure it out yourself or have Niles help you!” Leo was already walking away, needing to think of a plan to make physics fun with the help he got.

“Niles, buddy, please-”

“No can do.” Niles was abandoning that ship too by getting up from the table.

“But I thought we were friendos!”

~!~

Leo was nervously waiting for Takumi's arrive, wondering the possibilities of what his mood today could be. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he was preparing for the worst. If he had to pull out the card suggested by his roommates already he would, just to make him happy.

Odd how fascinated he was on that smile, he couldn't remember being as enamored with an expression with his past interests.

Maybe that's what made Takumi so special.

The thought made him feel sappy. He did see past partners as special, as lovers do, but that was after he started dating them, not before. He didn't think he was that deep into this problem already, but sometimes these things had their own pace. It didn't take long for Leo to realize he was blushing as he felt the warmth on his cheeks that he immediately started to will away. He wasn't sure what he could do to make it go away as quick as possible, but he was doing everything he could since he doubted he could come up with a lie as to why he was red whenever Takumi showed up. He covered his cheek with one of his hands, staring intently at some random books in hopes it would help. He couldn’t tell if it was.

Leo soon realized it was not as he heard footsteps approaching. He knew it would be Takumi, not many people came to this area, and that remained true as said athlete came to their designated table to sit down.

“Hey- you alright?” Takumi cut his greeting off when he noticed Leo was looking flush. “You’re not getting sick are you?” He sounded so caring that it caught Leo off guard. He turned to face him, hand leaving his cheek to show they were both flushed the same tint. It was the last thing he expect to be asked so he wasn’t sure how to react.

“Ah-no I’m… um…” He stumbled over his words, not sure what to say. He couldn’t think of a lie.

Takumi just huffed in disbelief and placed his bag in his seat, one hand going on the table as the other reached out for the back of his palm to press against Leo’s forehead. Leo stayed still as he allowed Takumi to search, unable to do anything but stay still and stare down at the table. He couldn't meet the his gaze, but Takumi wasn’t looking for eye contact either. His hand shifted and he thought he was safe, but then the tanned hand went to the side of his neck and he worried Takumi would hear his breath hitch. His neck was sensitive, he didn't need to touch it in his search for illness.

Either Takumi noticed his sudden tenseness or he found nothing since he backed off. The spots his hand touched felt hotter than his blush. The athlete moved his bag out of his seat and took its place as he decided to explain himself. “Sorry, my friends lie about not being sick a lot so I don’t trust it when people say they aren’t anymore.” He wasn’t sure if it was a good enough reason and shifted in his spot, looking like he was growing a bit flustered himself. “And my little sister is studying in medicine and shares a lot of stuff… so,” a cough,”… sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Hearing that apology quickly made Leo jump into action, “No it’s alright, really. I promise I’m alright; thank you for looking out for me.” Hopefully he wouldn’t ask for the real reason why he was flushed, but since he seemed embarrassed too he doubted it would come. A silence passed between them as they both recovered from different levels of blushing, but Leo was the one who broke it first. “Shall we get started?” Getting back to normal should help them get over this small bump, even if the blond’s neck still felt awfully warm.

The feeling and the color and his cheeks faded as the session continued on as usual. Even though the gloomy mood wasn’t around anymore, the same enthusiasm wasn’t around like with the past sessions. He wasn’t sure if it was the lack of faith that they were helping or the awkward start, but he knew he was going to suggest to different scenery for Thursday once they were done.

Since they were now going with the pace of his class, things were showing its difficulty. Takumi was struggling quite a bit covering everything and constantly they had to go back to other chapters they ended up only skimming through. As much as he would like to thoroughly help him through each chapter as they go, they couldn’t have him be perpetually left behind. Leo was still there to gently guide him through everything, still trying to keep his hopes up so he wouldn’t constantly belittle himself. He hated those little comments, they weren’t true at all. Thankfully none came out even if it seemed like they would a few times whenever his brows merged together and he frowned down at his notebook.

After getting through a few pages in the book Leo decided to call it good for the day. They still had a few minutes left, but it was fine. Takumi looked like he needed the break. He closed his notebook with a soft sigh and started to pack up his items. Leo shifted in his spot, deciding to speak up on the idea that's been bouncing around in his head.  

“You know, I’ve been thinking for next time.” The blond started out to peak his interest. Thankfully it worked as Takumi finished zipping up his bag and placed it to the side to pick up again later.

“What is it?” He asked with a small tilt of his head. His ponytail shifted behind him, upward tufts swaying listlessly with the motion even though they still remained upright. He shouldn’t think about wanting to play with his hair at the moment. It wasn’t appropriate.

“We should… ah- change things up a bit?”

“What do you mean?” Takumi asked with an incredulous look. He had no idea where he was going with the idea. By how unsure he sounded, it seemed like Leo didn’t know where he was going either. After clearing his throat he managed to recover.

“We should have a session outside. The weather is nice out and it would be a shame to stay indoors. Besides, I’ve heard that changing things up help stimulate the brain more and the fresh air should help too.” He actually looked that up the night before so he could have a sound excuse. Takumi didn’t say anything for the time being, instead thinking over what was suggested to him. It didn’t take long for him to decide.

“That sounds good to me.” He didn’t see anything wrong with it as long as the weather stays nice. “I know a good spot where we could meet too. I pass it all the time going from my Biology to my English class.” There was always one person sitting on one of the benches in the nook surrounded by trees, but hopefully there would be a spot for the two of them. “I could meet you there? It’s close to my last class before coming here.”

“Alright. I’ll need directions again.” Between two subjects was awfully broad so he would need some help.

“Yeah, I'll send you them once there.” He didn’t mind giving directions again, it was better than having Leo wander around late because he was lost.

“Wonderful, then I’ll see you there Tuesday.”

And it wasn’t a date.

...Maybe...


	7. y=|-2x|

It was a cool Thursday afternoon as Takumi waited in the designated outside spot. The sun felt nice, but it wasn't overbearing. A gentle breeze could be felt in the occasional brush of air, but it wouldn't be strong enough to make them chase after any runaway papers. He’s already sent a message to Leo about the locations and a picture of the surroundings to get a basic idea of where to go so now all that was left to do was wait. He still found it a bit spontaneous to suggest studying outside, but at the moment he didn't hate the idea.

The change was something he would have to see to know if it was actually helping him or not, but he would find out soon. He would admit that the nice weather and air did make him feel better mood wise, but who knows if that would change once the session started. Lately he felt he was swamped with homework since it was like he picked up another physics class, and even though he was learning a bit with the one on one, he wasn't sure how well he was retaining the information. There were still times he felt like sometime was missing, but that might be because he just wasn’t meant for the subject.

Honestly, who cares as long as he gets the passing grade. Athletes don’t need physics.

According to his actual class and Leo, they did and therefore he did. There were many questions to test his knowledge that involved real life scenarios and they all felt unnecessary outside of seeing how bad he was at the subject. He’d rather be blissfully unaware as he continued down his archery career. There were many questions last session that had nothing to do with archery, but it wasn’t like he was going to say anything about it. As much as he didn’t like it, he still needed to know the answers to the question.

There was one part of the last session that really stuck out to him more than the rest and it was the moment before they actually started. His excuses weren't lies, he was genuinely use to having friends, specifically Hinata, lie about sickness. The last time his friend was sick he had to call Oboro to help hold him down at take some medicine. He was not about to get sick too all because his friend didn’t want to admit being ill. The second part of his excuse was true too. Sakura was just about to go to college for medicine and she already knew so much from her own personal studies since she was so passionate. She was never really talkative unless it involves one of her hobbies- then she could talk for days. So when he saw a friend looking red for no apparent reason he assumed the worst and thought illness. He was trying to look out for him; he didn’t know him enough to know how he acts when getting sick.

Leo was warm when he touched his head, but it made him realize he didn’t know completely what he was looking for temperature wise which made him move on. He thought he heard Sakura once say checking the side of the neck would be better so he moved, but he wasn’t sure if that was the case or not. Doing so made him forget all about what he was looking for since it was the first time he looked at his expression since reaching forward. Feeling him tense under his fingers was what helped him realize what he was doing, but seeing his blush increase as he looked down at the table made him finally pull away. He didn’t mean to embarrass him at the time, he had the best intentions in mind. At least Leo took the apology openly and he felt forgiven, but on the flip side he still felt guilty. After thinking about it for the possible reason, he concluded that the most logical option was because he wasn’t use to people touching him or didn’t like it. That was alright with him, he could avoid doing so for future reference.

Thinking about such an awkward moment made him feel a little flushed himself, but he managed to get rid of the pink on his own cheeks before Leo showed up. He was looking around a bit clueless before finally catching sight of Takumi, smiling lightly as he made his way over.

“Glad you could make it; I almost thought you got lost.” Takumi teased once he found his casual air from almost embarrassing himself with thoughts of the past. Talking like normally would really help him get over it and he found the best way to do so was point out how he was a couple of minutes late.

“I’m sorry; I got this area confused with another one. Did you know there is one quite like it?”  He said as he sat down at the other side of the same bench, leaving enough room between them so there was space for the for the textbook. He was on time making it to that area, but he soon realize after double checking with a look at the picture that some flowers were different.

“It’s not that similar.” He said with a smile. Sure there was some similarities, but after a quick look around the differences would jump out quickly.

“I thought they looked the same.” Leo said in defense, but there was obviously no real defiance in his voice. Besides, the smile of his own would make any real sass lose its bite.

“Well, if we ever decided to meet here again, look for the flowers that are completely destroyed. That’s how I tell them apart.” Takumi stated as he pointed over to a flower bush that had seen better days. It looked like someone decided to pick flowers by kicking them off in that one bush only. There was only a few buds left with dual purple petals, making him wonder how vibrant it looked like when it was healthy.

“It would be just my luck that they fix it up and I’m completely lost again.” Yet his tone was light and the words didn’t hold any dread. “I am occasionally… directionally challenged.” It was another reason why he liked to leave minutes early for any new places he was visiting. He had his usual path between classes and knew where to go in that sense, but when there was a change in his migration pattern things turned south.

He laughed at his little joke before speaking up. “I’m sure you’ll find the way a few more times around.” Takumi still was there to ease him by waving off the worries. It made Leo realize he was serious about coming here again.

“Would you like to meet here again?” It was best to be straightforward and ask outright. Leo didn’t mind at the moment since the place had many pros and cons. Some pros were that it was good to enjoy nature and the outdoors, but some cons included a lack of table to lay out their things and it wasn’t as secluded since anyone could walk by and see the. People would have to go out of their way to look for them in their library spot and he’s grown use to that since he liked it.

Even though the answer seemed obvious Takumi still titled his head to think about it for a moment. Leo turned his head to watch and wait, catching sight of his profile against a background filled with small white flowers from a flowering tree. The petals and a few listless strands of wayward rose dust colored hair swayed in the breeze and the grin that spread across his soft lips was brighter than the sun. It wasn’t enough to make the dimple show up, but it was enough to make Leo’s chest flutter with the realization that it was inappropriate to be swayed by the image so much. His imagination was probably adding stupid effects to make him lose his composure even more. He couldn’t say anything about his crush- he wouldn’t.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind every now and then.” Takumi finally admitted and looked at Leo.

Plain, same old Leo.

The blond started into formal stiffness. “Very well, we can arrange plans on when to meet here instead of the library.” The sudden change in his posture went unnoticed as it needed to remain.

“Sounds good.”

With that they began the session. There were no other random moments of Leo’s heart feeling like it was beating out of his chest for the time being which he was grateful for. Right now he was here to teach, not swoon over a student. If he worded it in his head like a forbidden student-teacher romance, he should put himself off from it, right? It didn’t last long as he was soon hit with the facts that he was utterly smitten over Takumi. He was smiling again, enjoying himself and learning as they moved in the book. Coming outside improved his mood much more than he could ever expect, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

But that dimple was making things very distracting.

Takumi was stuck looking down at the book, writing something down in his notebook in his lap as neatly as he could with the lack of desk. His smile was gone since he was too busy concentrating on writing something down, but he was asking a question and for some reason Leo was suddenly curious if it would show up whenever he was saying certain syllables. He wasn’t sure if it was possible, so now was the time to find out by sneaking a glance in the spot the dimple would show itself.

Even in his secret quest he still heard what Takumi as asking for elaboration on something in simpler terms. He was pointing down at it in the book, giving Leo the perfect guide to see what he needed to be explained. Leo skimmed over the short paragraph before coming to a conclusion.

“What it’s saying is since every point rotates in a circle about a common axis, its implied that the angular displacement is the same for any point on a rotating object. Therefore, the angle which each point sweeps out in rotating is the same at any given time for any point on the object.” He explained before seeing the graph a small ways under the introduction to angular displacement. “As you can see here-” Leo was going to point to the graph, but while he moved his hand towards it Takumi was moving his hand away to give him space since their arms would cross if he didn’t. In his shift to move their hands touched and suddenly Takumi was moving away much quicker than normal. The rest of Leo’s sentence never came out.

“Sorry,” Takumi apologized  quickly, hovering his hand for a moment before resting it on his lap, “I didn’t mean to.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He said without processing the words leaving his mouth. He didn’t need to apologize. “I..” _welcome it, the touch is warm and I want more._ Can’t say that; don’t think about it here, “I know it was an accident. It’s not a big of a deal, really.” He could keep accidentally touching him just to feel that warmth. Intentionally too. Not the time.

The hand resting on his lap went to rub the back of his head and it looked like he was about to say something, but it wasn’t coming out. Leo could only wait so long.

“Are you alright?”

It pushed Takumi into action and making him finally speak. “Yeah…! Sorry, I think I’m overthinking yesterday.” He wasn’t sure why the honest reason came out, but he couldn’t take it back.

The blond immediately knew what he was talking about and seemed to know exactly what to say. He’s been thinking a lot about that once he made it home from the session.

“You were looking out for me and I appreciate it. It was a surprise, yes, but not completely…” He trailed off since he needed to find the right word. Would unwelcomed be alright here instead? He didn’t want to sound like he wanted to be touched since he wasn’t sure how well he could hide that with a platonic facade, but it was true. After a moment he hoped he found the words he was looking for. “I wasn’t as against it as you might of thought.” Through the little explanation they were both wearing a light dusting of pink across their cheeks that neither seemed to be bothered by the presence as of yet, but Takumi seemed to wish to change that.

“You jumped so much that I wasn’t sure if i did something wrong.” He said with a weak laugh, trying to play it all off as nothing big, but it was hard to do so once he noticed Leo’s blush darkened to a cherry red.

“O-oh… sorry the um…” Leo had to look away, unable to face him when he felt this embarrassed. Now he wished they were in the library since anyone who walked by would get the wrong idea. Thankfully there didn’t seem to be anybody close by to hear what they were saying, but there were still a few random students milling around the campus. Next session would definitely be indoors, “the spot you accidentally touched is... quite… you know.” He didn’t want to explain more so he decided to leave it at that. Surly he’d get the picture.

“Oh… oh! Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to at all.” Takumi was just as red as Leo once it all registered what he was talking about. He knew people had sensitive spots, but he didn’t think they could be so easily accessed nor could cause such a reaction from a chaste touch. Archery did take up quite a lot of his time for any first hand experience, but he knew some things. That was not one of those things until now.

Leo wasn’t fairing much better, but who could blame him after admitting to his crush that he had a sensitive spot right under his ear. At the least he handled embarrassment much differently and wanted to be over all this. “It’s alright; I knew it was an accident. Let’s just… continue where we left off.”

It was a rough transition with both of them red and careful about their words, but a recovery was made in time for them to finish for the day. Leo voiced his suggestion of being indoors next time and Takumi agreed, now able to look at him after not being able to in the embarrassment. His amber eyes shifted to something right next to Leo’s head, but his gaze was met once again not a half second later.

Maybe…

~!~

The next session was held back inside the library at their usual spot which Leo didn't mind at all. He didn't mind where they learned as long as Takumi was happy. He was waiting for Takumi to show up as usual when there was a buzz from his phone. Wondering if it was said man, he decided to check it out only to see the sender’s name.

_ass disasseater: hey_

_hey_ **_@Leokummies_ **

He frowned at his phone, wondering what Niles wanted. He knew he was busy during this time and to not message him, but apparently whatever he needed was too important to care about the warning. Leo knew it wasn’t going to be something detrimental that needed his attention now since Niles would text with a different tone. This tone he could tell he was going to pull a trick just to mess with him. Also who changed his name in the chat again and why was it an inappropriate merge of his and Takumi’s name?

_Leokummies: What._

_ass disasseater: can u get my wb from the archery locker room plz? I left it :((((((_

It took a moment for Leo to figure out what the abbreviation for “WB” stood for in this context before letting out a sigh. He was right in assuming it wasn’t a serious matter, but he wasn’t going to say no to his friend over a simple request. There has been a few times Niles forgot his water bottle and decided to just get it next day, but he probably found it best to save himself the trip and have his friend do it.

_Leokummies: The bright green one, right?_

_ass disasseater: ye_

_Leokummies: Alright. I’ll get it after tutoring. What’s your locker number?_

_ass disasseater: no now_

_Leokummies: What?_

He couldn’t get it now, Takumi would show up any second now. Besides, he was sure that the bottle could wait another hour and a half before being brought home again. Niles’ name popped up a few time to show he was typing before disappearing again and it left Leo all the more confused. Finally a response was settled on and it as sent.

_ass disasseater: listennnnn im trying to HELP you here_

There were many things Leo wanted to respond such as he still wasn’t sure what he was talking about nor did he need help with anything in particular at the moment, but since Niles was still typing he decided to let it be.

_ass disasseater: ur last tutorin date with such a disaster bab_

A pout appeared on the blond’s face as he was getting an idea of where this as going. When he was sharing what went down with his friend about how they had an awkward moment last session he didn’t think he would start taking matters into his own hands. He didn't need a wing man to try and set him up.

_ass disasseater: SO_

_have him lead u to the archery locker room_

_and have a private hands on session of physics and garbo_

_dw no one should be in there besides the two of u_

_it’ll work trust me ;)_

_don’t get too carried away where you forget my stuff tho~ it number 16 btw_

He read over the plan Niles had for him over a few times, wondering exactly how it was suppose to help him. All it would do was put him and Takumi in a private situation and studying in a place that wasn’t meant for it. He wasn’t sure how well it would actually work out.

One the positive side the solitude would be nice and there wouldn’t be a need to whisper. He could probably specify how physics was in archery since he did bring it up yesterday before the moment they shared. He never got to see the archery locker room either so it would ease that curiosity. Not only that, he doubted he could get in on his own and would probably need Takumi’s help to get there and in the building. Doing it before the session instead of afterwards would be easier too.

Maybe it was a good idea.

Takumi arrived a few moments later, giving his usual greeting as he started to put his stuff down. As Leo was putting his phone away he took the moment to reel in some confidence, needing to act casual without any ulterior motives pushed onto him by his friend. He was helping Niles and Takumi at the same time, he reasoned with himself, so two birds one stone. Now he just needed to hope his plan would be able to be put into motion.

“I have a request, if you don’t mind.” Leo questioned, looking at Takumi sitting in front of him. He curious expression was just as cute as his smile. He really was in too deep.

“Yeah?” He has no idea what it could be, but he was willing to help where he could.

“One of my roommates is on the archery team and forgot something in his locker that he wants me to get for him.”

“Right now?”

“He wants it to be right now, yes.” Leo said in a sigh, trying to put on the act of being bothered by the request too. He'd even show him the messages as proof too if such names weren't involved. It wasn't needed though.

“Alright, I don't see why not.” He knew he needed the study especially after the test, but getting out of it for a moment sounded much nicer. “Let's go.” Already he was adjusting his bag on his shoulder to prepare himself for the walk.

“Thank you, but how will we get in?” He figured Takumi had some way into the building, but he still felt the need to ask.

“I can abuse my Captain powers every now and then.” He said with a small smirk. He had a key to the locker room he could open up whenever.

“Sounds like a wonderful power.” Leo had to agree, but he was biased. He would agree with anything that was accommodated with that charming smirk. With that he picked up his own bag to put over his shoulder. Together they started to walk out of the library, Takumi leading the way even though he still walked right next to him.

“So who's this roommate?” It was a natural question. He had to know this person being if they were on the same basic archery time even if it was divided into two different sections. They still shared the same locker room too. Leo seemed to be hesitant for the moment mostly because he was waiting to get out of the library. He knew the reaction would not be suitable a for a quiet environment. “You better not make me guess.” He hated guessing games, he just wanted to get to the point of finding out who this mystery person was.

“No, no, I'm just…” The exit needed to come closer.

“Stalling?”

“…possibly…” That made Takumi squint in suspicion. Why would he need to do that? Even though he didn't want to have to guess he thought about all the possibilities. It was enough time to finally get out of the library and state the truth. “It's Niles.”

Even when he finally said it there was no response. Takumi was staring straightforward, finally stopping once they were out of the way of the library entrance. He must of finally made the connection.

“Wait… _that_ Niles?”

“Assuming there isn't another Niles on your team, yes.”

“How can you live with that?!”

“You get use to his ways being friends since elementary. Besides, he can be a great friend when need be.” Like right now he had good intent trying to get him into a relationship, even if he still felt he didn't need a wing man.

“Then can you tell him to leave me the hell alone?” There was too much contempt in his voice to even consider taking it as a joke. He honestly felt a bit bad.

“I will once I see him again.” He could only imagine the teasings he got once he told his friend to stop, but he'd rather burden that embarrassment instead of Takumi.

“Fuckin’ finally. I'm tired of his flirting. I swear he never leaves me alone.”

“He does a lot of things purely for reaction. Trust me, he does so to me too.” This crush seemed to be the biggest and best source material for the recent teasing and he sure got a lot of reactions out of him. The thought made him have a sudden horrible idea. “What does he say to you if I may ask?” He didn't think he would, but he wasn't sure what he would do if Niles was dropping subtle hints about Leo's crush to him.

Thinking about it caused a small brush of pink to be painted across his nose and Leo didn't like that. He shouldn't be blushing over another man’s words, but that sudden twitch of jealousy was pushed aside for later. Now wasn't the time.

“Just a bunch of stupid compliments that mess up my concentration when I'm trying to practice. It starts out clean about how I look handsome, but then it involves to touching and running his hands through my hair and saying how it's so soft.” There was also once a comment how the ponytail style was easiest to pull during some fun, but Takumi ended that sort of talk by putting an arrow to his neck. The explicit talk went away, but the vanilla flirting stayed. He still hated it.

“But it's true.”

“Huh?”

Leo wasn't aware that the words left him until he was questioned about it and he wasn't sure what to do. Was the question in regards of not hearing him of wondering why he said that? He wasn't too sure and he wasn't sure if he could ask for clarification either. He struggled over an excuse to the point where one didn't come out at all.

“It… is soft.” He muttered again, looking away at everything else but Takumi until he gave a response. He waited a few pauses and nothing came, making him finally look over to see what was wrong. Takumi too was looking down, blush grown on his face to paint both his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. It really didn't help Leo, the blush expression was the weakest on his heart. He wanted to cup his cheeks and kiss his nose and now his own blush was just as red. Of course, he had to dig his own grave. “I mean, I-it looks soft. I wouldn't, um… wouldn't touch it without your consent, but it does look like it would… you know… b-be soft…” There was a pause as Takumi took in and registered what was said to him that was lasting too long for Leo. He was about to apologize when the athlete finally found his voice.

“Um… thanks….” There was no way that was the same response Niles got and he couldn't help but be a little optimistic, but he knew this wasn't the time or place. It never was.

“We should continue on.”

“Yeah, okay.” Takumi’s voice was quiet as he continued forward. There wasn't any other conversation as they continued out towards the correct building. Once they were inside, Takumi continued to lead the way until he stopped at the right door. He pulled his backpack in front of him, rummaging through it to pull out a set of keys. The bag was moved behind him again as he singled out the key he needed. With short work the door was unlocked and pushed open for just the two of them. Leo stepped in first, looking around the dark room that was soon illuminated when Takumi turned on the light behind him.

Lockers lined one of the walls. A bench was close to them and on the opposite side there were a few random bows and stocks of arrows. Some metals and trophies could be found on the same wall and the door leading out to what he assumed the range. There were also a few pictures of what he assumed were past teams and the current one. As much as he liked to look closer, he had something to do. After a small look around, he finally found the correct locker.

“Do the lockers have set combinations on the locks or does the owner set them?” He asked as he was standing in front of number sixteen. It occurred to him that he might not know the code to open it if they were preset, but if Niles set it himself he would know it immediately.

“We get to set them.” Even though he didn’t really want to, he walked forward to meet Leo at the locker. “Did he not tell you the code?” He asked with a raised brow,

“No, but if he got to set it I know what he put. Surly you know he is mentally twelve at best.” As he spoke he turned the dial to the number six, then nine and then six again. He did like the six position which was information he did not care to know, but got to anyway because it was ‘important for future reference.’

“That’s fair.” A glance over showed that Takumi was grinning lightly. Leo was glad he was feeling better after their awkward moment earlier.

The lock popped open and was removed before the locker itself was open. There wasn’t much in there beside a bag and a bow hanged up. With no water bottle in immediate sight he figured it would be in the bag. Leo kneeled down to pick it up, not thinking much about how light it felt. Opening the knapsack showed gloves and arm braces, but no water bottle. A frown crossed the blond’s lips.

“It’s not here. Would it be anywhere else?” Maybe Takumi would know just in case it was left somewhere else in the locker room.

“If it’s not around out here I wouldn’t know. We can’t have food or drinks in the range.” Leo pulled the drawstring bag shut and placed it back in Niles’ locker, looking around the room once it was placed. There was no way it could be hidden in such an open area.

“Hold on.” Leo grumbled as he pulled out his phone once more,  doing the last thing he could think to do in this search.

_Leokummies: It's not here. Are you sure you left it in your locker?_

Leo thought about atting his friend so he could see and possibly responding right away, but it wasn’t needed.

_ass disasseater: oops looks like i brought it home_

_i would say sorry buuuuuuut_

_have fun studying in the locker room hon ;)_

Leo’s frown deepened. Really, he should of know he was going to pull this trick from a mile away especially since he did outright say he was trying to help him out. He could be gullible at the worst of times. Even though Takumi hated the man, he was still looking around a bit himself for this water bottle. There really wasn’t any place it could reasonably be, but he was still glancing around trophies and what not for the off chance it was placed there. When he heard Leo’s annoyed huff he stopped his search to look over.

“What is it?” He asked as he started to make his way over to stand next to him

“He didn’t leave his bottle here; it's actually at home with him.”

A huff left Takumi. “So what do we do now?”

It took a moment for him to figure out what they could do. As much as he didn’t want to let Niles win and do what he suggested and planned, it sounded quite appealing. He didn’t want to outright suggest what he knew his friend would want him to say though.

“Well, our library spot is most likely taken right now…” He trailed off in thought, thinking of every last option before they came to studying in this very private area. Just the two of them, alone, in the quiet solitude of the locker room. It was a childish thing to get worked up over, but somehow his face wasn’t sporting a blush. Lucky this one time.

“We can study right here?” Thankfully Takumi was willing to suggest the idea right off the bat. As grateful as he was, he still questioned it a bit.

“Why not outside again?” The day was nice.

Takumi’s shoulders raised in a shrug as he was already making himself home on the bench. “It’s nice and all, but here we have more space to place our stuff.” The bench outside was nice, but here they could place their books and notes in front of them. He wasn’t going to make him get up so he ended up joining him too.  

“Well, this works out too. May we begin?”

It was a bit difficult working on what was basically a long desk, but they made due. After using the outside bench and their lap as a makeshift one, they had a much easier time working around it. Leo was glad they did stay in the locker room for that one reason, but the other pros listed prior were nice bonuses too. The lesson continued where they left off from last time and it was progressing smoothly. Takumi was attentive and ready to learn which was always a plus in his book. Many questions were asked that Leo was able to easily answer and every time Takumi got a question right his confidence grew. It was easy to tell when he smirked a bit and squared his shoulders before easing into a more confident position. They made up fro the time wasted coming here and searching for something that wasn’t around before finally ending for the day.

“Well done today Takumi.” Leo said easily. He liked praising him and he would always accept the compliment. Well, minus that once.

“Thanks.” The smile was a full and bright one. Leo swears his heart melts each time it faces his way.

“Shall, we head back?” Leo didn’t think there needed to be a reason for them to stay around here anymore, but Takumi had other plans.

“Nah, I think I’m gonna get some practice in. I can lead you out of the building if you want?” They went down a few halls to get here so he wouldn’t mind helping him not get lost. He made it seem like that happened quite a lot. Leo shifted in his spot, weighing his options since he got an idea. Would it be alright to speak up?

“Actually… I was wondering if I could watch for a moment? I’ve never seen archery in action so…” Niles hardly went to any tournaments unless he absolutely had to, but Leo wasn’t able to sit and watch those. He wasn’t allowed to watch practice either and Niles obviously never brought his archery equipment home. He was almost embarrassed by his own request, but Takumi was squaring his shoulders and turning up his nose to preen in a prideful stance.

“Why not? I’ll show you what you’re missing out on.” Archery was the thing he was best at so he saw no reason to not show off.

“Oh- wonderful. Thank you.” He didn’t expect to be allowed to so easily, but he wasn’t going to say no to the chance. Takumi made his way to his locker and opened it up, grabbing everything he needed to go out to the range. When he pulled out his bow Leo had questions. “Why is your bow different than Niles?” He asked with genuine curiosity. He didn’t realize different bows were even provided.

“He uses a steel bow and I use a tradition yumi. It’s basically a Japanese bow. What, is that too stereotypical for ya?” He asked with a small smirk, tone teasing.

“Not at all. It just goes to show how little I know.” Leo returned in the same tone.

“Then hurry up so I can show you more.” He waved him to start following him into the archery range which he happily obliged.

Thankfully there were a few seats set to the side for Leo to sit in which he made himself comfortable in. Takumi pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back, concentrating on one of the many abused targets in front of him. His breath evened out as he got into position, pulling the string as he kept his gaze forward. Finally he let go of the arrow as it flew towards the target, hitting dead in the center. A smirk crossed his lips.

“Amazing.” He sounded in awe as the arrow hit it’s mark. The arrow moved too fast for Leo to watch, but he was able to see where it stopped dead center of the target. He didn’t expect anything less from the best on the team.

“Like what you see?” The smirk was turned towards him, proud of himself even though he hit a target he’s bullied the center of multiple times.

That was a loaded question.

“Y-Yes.” He accidentally stuttered, choosing to look mostly at the target now instead. Doing so made Leo unaware Takumi looked at him for a moment with a tilted head before facing the target once more. He repeated the process of grabbing another arrow, pulling it forward to place in its place. A few more arrows flew close to the first one in the center until there was a change in the pattern. It looked like he was about to release the arrow before he suddenly got a better idea. He lowered his arms, looking away from the target and over at Leo.

“Hey, do you trust me?”

The new question caused Leo to pause for a different reason. He didn’t expect it to come so he wasn’t sure what to think about it. He didn’t want to wait too long to make it seem like he didn’t, but he wasn’t sure what to expect since he had a feeling that sharp, pointy arrows would be involved.

“Yes?”

“Rip a piece of paper out of my notebook and draw a little circle on it before bringing it here.”

The curiosity was starting to win over the worry and caused him to get up. He left the range to head back to the locker room, deciding to go to his own bag to get the paper. He didn’t feel right going through his stuff so he settled for his own. Whatever Takumi had planned he could handle losing one piece of paper in the process. He found a blank page and ripped it out, finding a pen to mark it with a moment later. He wasn’t sure how big of a circle he should draw, but he ended up using his pinky finger nail as size reference before rounding it to be more circle like. With that done he headed back to the range. Once inside Takumi walked closer to him, reaching his hand out to signal wanting to have the paper. It was an easy thing to abide to.

The athlete started to fold up the paper smaller, pausing for a moment to think over what he wanted to do before deciding to fold it into a long, thin strip. Once satisfied he handed it back to Leo. Brown eyes looked down at the paper now in his hands, to the target, back to the paper, and finally to Takumi.

“Are you _serious?_ ”

“Trust me- it’ll be cool!”

“Um…”

Takumi’s smile faltered a bit when he noticed the hesitation. “If you don’t want to its alright.” He couldn’t force him to do anything as cool as it would be to show off in such a neat way.

He couldn’t believe what he would do for that smile.

“No, I said I trust you so its okay. Where should I stand?” Takumi was the best archer the school had, there was no way he would hurt him with a trick like this. He would be alright. At least he didn’t have to stand with an apple on his head. He shouldn’t of been surprised seeing that saying yes made that smile come back. 

“Right beside the target. Hold the paper horizontal in front of the yellow spot, please.” With instructions given Leo did as he was told, standing right next to the target and holding the paper out. Takumi was about to raise his bow before he noticed something. “Flip it around.”  He looked at the paper he was holding and did as told, flipping it so the red dot was facing the archer. He wasn’t directly in front of a knocked arrow, but it sure felt like he was. Seeing things from this angle was entirely different from the sidelines and he his heart was thumping for reasons that weren’t being helplessly smitten.

Wait, this feeling was from worry and not falling in love all over again, right?

Leo didn’t dare say a word as Takumi lined up his shot, catching the determination and concentration in his eyes as he lined up the shot, To help rid some worry he didn’t watch the arrow but Takumi’s fingers, waiting for them to move to release the arrow. When he finally did, Leo immediately closed his eyes.

Pain didn’t didn’t register right away, but the thunk from the arrow hitting the target did. Slowly Leo opened his eyes, looking around to catch Takumi lowering his yumi with a smug smile before glancing over at the target. No wonder pain didn’t register in his mind, he wasn’t hit at all. The blond let go of the paper and took a step away, noticing the paper stayed in place pinned to the target. He couldn’t see any ink at all, making it easy for him to assume where it was.

“You’re incredible...” He didn’t move at all, but he felt out of breath. Takumi made his way over, reaching for the arrow to pull it out of the target, paper coming off attached to the tip.

“I told you you could trust me.” After adjusting his grip on his yumi in hand he removed the paper from the arrow. “Were you scared I was gonna hit you?”

“Being scared of you hitting me and being at the end of an arrow are two entirely different things.” He could trust Takumi up and down with his life, but being in the line of fire wasn’t something he could do without giving some sort of reaction. He reached out his hand to take the paper to offer to toss later. When it was in his hand, he decided to pocket it being that there wasn’t any trash can around.

“Do you wanna try?”

“Try… that?”

“Oh hell no!” Takumi even laughed at the idea. If this was the first time seeing archery it was no doubt his first time trying it out. Rubber tipped arrows had the capacity to harm to, trusting that the arrow would actually hit the target instead of him. “I meant try shooting an arrow at a regular target.” The idea never came to Leo’s mind since he was perfectly content sitting and watching, but now it was in his head.

“I wouldn’t mind if you taught me.”

“Sweet; let’s get you a normal bow though.” Takumi was excited to teach him something for once and it made Leo happy to agree to try it out. Back in the locker room Takumi put his yumi back in his locker before going to the wall that held some bows out for display. In reality they were starter bows, not fancy ‘no one can touch’ bows like Leo thought when he first saw them. He looked the selection over before deciding on one, handing it over to Leo. The blond held it at the same points Takumi did as he looked it over. He was a bit surprised to note it had a bit more weight to it than he imagined, but it wasn’t heavy. With bow in hand he followed Takumi back into the range, following to where he was standing which was closer to that target than the professional was. Honestly he would take any handicap he could get.

“Alright, so stand like this.” Takumi moved his legs and hips into position right next to Leo, looking down at the blond’s legs to make sure he was in the correct stance. For the most part he was, but there could be a few improvements. “Move your legs apart a little.” A pause as Leo did what he was told, waiting for future instruction. He thought he was good from his hips down, but he soon realized he wasn’t when there were hands on his hips to change his angle. He moved easily, but his lips were in a thin line to try and will away any blush that could come on his cheeks. Either no pink was on his face or Takumi had mercy on him as nothing was said. “Good, now straighten your back and square your shoulders.” He was able to do so without any hands on help. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

“Here’s your arrow, take it between your thumb and pointer finger and put it at the nock in the string.” He did as he asked, holding the end of the arrow between the two stated fingers. He didn’t know what in the world a nock was, but it didn’t take long to figure it out after looking over the string in the arrow. He thought it would be easy, but he was struggling since the arrow kept wiggling around and throwing off his aim. “It would help to nock it with the bow parallel to the ground, not upright.” He could've said something earlier, but he had a bit of fun watching the common beginner mistake.

“Oh.” The noise of surprise left Leo as he realized he was doing something wrong. He moved the bow in the right way, nocking the arrow right away in the new position. “That was much easier.”

“Right?” That laugh was contagious and always made Leo smile.”Now you gotta make sure the arrow shaft is against the bow’s arrow rest.” After once again looking over the bow from this new position, he did as told. Since he wasn’t correct he was sure he did it right. “Looking good, now aim at the target and pull back.” Leo lifted the bow, and started to pull back, but he wasn’t sure how much was enough. He would eye the string, seeing it was taunt and figuring good enough. “Pull back a little more.” Alright so not good enough, but that was an easy request to do. He didn’t realize so much strength was needed to pull back the arrow. He held the position, not firing just yet since he wasn’t told, but it was a good thing he didn’t yet. Once again Takumi’s hands were on him, this time to adjust his elbows in the right position. It was easier to not blush here, even though he did feel the warmth of his touch more.

“Focus on the part you want to hit and line the arrow head up with it. Keep your breathing level and don’t lose concentration. Fire whenever you’re ready.” With the last instructions given to him Leo took in a breath. Holding it for just a moment he let it out, feeling calm and collected, but most importantly almost as cool as Takumi looked. Feeling ready, he let the arrow free.

“Ow!”

The arrow flew, hitting the farthest outer corner of the target, but he couldn’t be proud of himself for hitting the target on his first try since he was too busy experiencing extreme pain on his arm. He accidentally dropped the bow, but neither seemed to care at the moment.

“Are you okay? Let me see.” Immediately Takumi was in front of him with an expression matching the heightened worry of his voice. Leo held his arm out to the other, letting him hold it for a moment as he moved his sleeve out of the way to look at his arm. “Shit. I’m sorry, I should of made you wear an arm brace.” He never overlooked something so important with new teammates, he couldn’t believe he did with his friend. “Hold on, go sit and I’ll get the first aid kit.” Leo did as he told as Takumi walked back into the locker room to get what he said. Sitting down in one of the chairs as he looked down at his arm. He could already tell a rash like bruise was forming, so what the hell was that?

Takumi came back a moment later and sat down in the seat next to him, putting the first aid kit down in the seat behind him. He was quick to find what he needed and squeezed a bit of ointment on his fingers. “You okay?” He asked again since the first time he didn’t get a response.

“Yeah, it hurts, but I think the shock got me more than anything. What was that? Does it happen often?” It looked like he was going to have the best bruise for the next few days.

“Its string slap,” Takumi started, gently applying ointment on Leo’s arm over the forming bruise and everything that was being said started to jumble in his mind. He could handle the little touches, but this was bigger and deliberate. He was definitely blushing now, “it could happen for a multiple of reasons like maybe the string wasn’t the right length, you moved your elbow too close- anything.” He started to frown as he looked down at the bruise. “I’ll fix the strings anyway tomorrow just in case.” He didn’t want this happening again. When the ointment was done he decided to move on to bandages. It was probably not needed, but he was going over the top as an apology for not making sure his friend wouldn’t hurt himself. “I’m so sorry.”

“I-It’s fine.” His voice was a squeak as he watched the bandage wrap around his arm, staying still as it was finished. Of course the squeak couldn’t go unnoticed.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

He cleared his throat to try again. “Yes, I’m okay now.” He managed to make sure his voice was level this time around.”Thank you for taking care of me.”

“It’s the least I could do.” The smile was back and even though it a soft one, Leo still loved it.

“I’m sorry for dropping the bow.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not the first time it's happened.” Takumi said with a light chuckle. Those training bows been through so much it was amazing that they still looked fairly new condition. Amber eyes then where cast downward and it made both of them realize that he still had his hands under Leo’s arms. “Sorry.” He said quickly as he pulled back, keeping his hands in his lap before figuring he could put the first aid kit away.

Leo didn’t say anything as he watched him get up to put it away, only putting his sleeve back down once the other was out of the room.

...Just Maybe...

 


	8. x= -3|sin y|

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if my physics are off its because i dont know what im talking about im soRRY

During the walk back up to his apartment, Leo fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt. He could feel the bumps of the bandage under the cotton as he replayed what happened a while ago. He couldn’t believe archery could be so dangerous with not only the arrows, but with the bow too. He was glad he wore a long sleeve shirt though in the sense he did feel like that lessened the blow of the string slap, even if just a little. Maybe that was something he was just telling himself though, mostly because Takumi didn’t say anything about it helping or not.

His whole arm still felt warm and his mind felt mushy, but he wasn’t sure if the injury or Takumi’s prolonged touches were responsible for that. He still couldn't believe Takumi held his arm for so long after wrapping it up, like he wasn’t aware he was still doing it at the time. He also couldn’t believe he impersonated a chipmunk with that squeak he did when he started treating his injury. The embarrassment added up and he ducked his head to hide his blush. Any time he had to look cool and try to impress Takumi firing an arrow was lost with how much of a fool he made himself.

Leo left the stairwell on his floor and made his way over to his apartment. He wasn’t sure when he started holding onto his injured arm by the elbow, but he needed to let go of it to grab his keys and let himself. He didn’t do the latter just yet though since he at first wished to compose himself. If he walked in with his head down looking bashful his roommates would start to worry which he couldn’t have- especially if Odin was running late to his classes  _ again _ . After a few breaths and shuffling his shoulders, he let himself into his home.

The pattern was the same as the first time he came home from studying: Odin at the door rushing to put his shoes on, Niles mindlessly flipping through channels, and himself stepping into the doorway. As soon as the door closed behind him, he was back to holding his arm. It was a forming habit. Slate blue eyes looked up at him and a big smile appeared as Odin looked up at him. The smile had no effect on him.

“Hey welcome back! I’ll have to catch ya later- I’m running late!”

“Of course you are.” Leo hummed as he moved out his way.

“That’s mean!”

“Don’t argue with me and hurry up to class.” Now he was trying to wave him along. Odin didn’t need his grade failing because he never showed up on time.

“Sure thing Mr. Teach!” With that Odin was off, closing the door behind him as he started the jog down the hall to start the commute to the campus. Leo shook his head, turning away from the door to catch sight of Niles laying on his stomach with his feet in the air crossed at the ankles. His chin was resting on his hands propped up on his elbows. He looked like a smug cat ready to gossip like a teenage girl, but that wasn’t too far off from the truth. Leo didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

“What.” Leo asked with a flat gaze, having a feeling he knew what he was going to ask.

“You know what~”

“Actually, I do.” He wasn’t going to tell him how the study session went right away since there was something important to cover first. Leo made his way to the couch to stand in front of it, making Niles need to shift to role on his side to look at him better. “Stop teasing Takumi and leave him alone.” 

The statement caused the white haired man to raise a brow, lazily tilting his head to now rest on the knuckles of one hand instead of both. It was a reasonable request given the crush Leo formed, but he wasn’t going to comply without one last hurrah for fun. “You want me to leave your boyfriend alone? You move a lot quicker than I gave you credit for.”

Leo really should of seen something like that coming, but lately he’s been missing the proper cues to react correctly. His mouth screwed up in a thin line as he tried to glare, but the effect with lessen with the blush starting on the bridge of his nose. He looked off to the side since he was no longer able to maintain eye contact. “We are not… just… just he told he’s tired of dealing with your antics and to tell you to stop.”

“You didn’t deny that as adamantly as last time.” Niles was quick to point out. The last time he accused them of being together he snapped at him; this time he sounded disappointed. “Why’s that?” Now Niles was sitting up. He had to if he was about to get devastating news. The question caused Leo to start covering his face in both his hands and Niles couldn’t help but tut. He got up off the couch to step closer to Leo, grabbing him gently by the shoulders to lead him to the couch to sit. He did so willingly, but didn’t say anything quite yet. That was alright with the darker skinned man since it didn’t seem like he was upset, just completely embarrassed over something. There was a moment silence as Leo collected himself, finally dropping his hands to his lap and speaking when he was ready. His face was much redder now.

“I think I flirted with Takumi and he wasn’t opposed to it.” Leo finally squeaked out. His voice was doing that a lot as of late, but he couldn't think about it too much as he replayed the scene in his head. Niles raised a brow at that, wanting to give something along the lines of how he told him it was going to work out, but Leo wasn’t done speaking yet. “I said his hair looks soft and he said thanks.” And blushed so cutely and had to look away, it made his heart stutter in his chest, but that part wasn't included. “I think I'm getting my hopes up.”

The pride he had for Leo for being able to flirt with his crush soon vanished. That was hardly anything at all, but he did suppose for his friend it was a start. He still wasn’t going to pass up his right to boast thought. “I told you he wouldn’t of been against it if it was you.” He knew what he was talking about after all. “I would recommend stepping it up though. That could of been seen as a simple compliment.”

“I don’t know if I have it in me…”

“You’ll get it, trust me. Now tell me how the date in the archery range went.” He was ready for that important information. After recovering some more Leo was able to properly speak and tell what all went down after the actual study session. There were a few details that were left out such as how hyper aware he was when Takumi had his hands on his hips to readjust his position, but he still shared most of what went down. When he got to the point of how he got hurt, he pulled up his sleeve to show the bandages.

“Whoa, he even wrapped it for you.” Niles hummed in amusement, reaching out to press down a piece of medical tape that was rising up at one of the edges. It only stayed for a moment before popping up again, but he didn’t try to fix it a second time.

“Is that not normal?”

“When I get string slap he just smacks the bruise and tells me to man up.” He doesn’t get it very often now, but there was still the off chance the string wanted to fight back and attack him. Having a brace normally helped, but sometimes not as much as one would wish.

“Sounds painful.” He was glad Takumi didn’t do that to him, but he never imagined that he would.

“Sounds like he likes you to me.”

“As a friend, most likely.” It was reasonable, even if the thought made him sad.

“Ugh, you’re too pessimistic.” Niles groaned, leaning back against the couch as he no longer had interest in the bandages.

“What are you talking about; I’m being reasonable here.” Takumi saw him as a friend and just a friend, there was no way there was anything more. The few lingering touches and stares were strictly platonic. They had to be. 

“And I’m getting to the point,” Niles started, pointing his index finger at him, “you should just go for it and see what happens; ask him out for a date I don't have to set up for you. All this running around is so draining and I’m not even directly involved.”

“I-I can’t be so open!”

“Yes you can; honesty is hot.”

That statement caused Leo to stiffen in his spot and stop any retort from coming out of his mouth. Even with that information he wasn’t sure how good of an idea it would be. He could see it horribly backfire and now he was out of a friend and his only pupil. As much as he liked -literally- Takumi, he still wouldn’t mind picking up another pupil to help in a different subject. Oh well, he supposed that meant more time dedicated to the physics struggling athlete. “I don't know…”

He better get some reward for needing to help out so much, but maybe seeing his friend get a boyfriend would be rewarding enough. If he ever had the confidence to try. “Fine, why not turn it into some sort of tutoring nonsense. See it like a field trip to show him physics in the real world since you need excuses to justify wanting to take him on a date.”

Leo honestly felt a little offended being called out like that. “I don't need excuses, it's just…,” he tried to think of a reason, but nothing was coming to mind. Finally he gave up with a sigh and lowered his head in defeat, “why are relationships so complicated?”

“Because you're overthinking things and, again, need excuses.”

“I have my reasons….” He sounded miffed with a frown on his face. 

“Sure you do.” Niles agreed to make him happy, even if he would say the opposite.  “Just take my advice already and try it out, alright?” He told him once again as he patted his shoulder. “I haven't failed you yet, have I?”

“I… guess you haven’t.”

“Exactly.”

Leo still had his doubts, but when has he not? He could say many ways how this could all head in the worst possible direction, but also a few where it could end up for the better. Something good could actually come from this, and he could do a number of things that's been polluting his mind as of late like holding Takumi’s hand and give him a hug. Despite being shorter than Leo by a couple of inches, Takumi was built broader with solid muscle and warmth. He wonder how he felt in his arms; he also wondered how he felt being the other way around. He wanted to find out. 

“If it doesn't work out I'm blaming you.”

“Blame me and I won't stop teasing your boyfriend.”

It did have a nice ring to it. 

“Alright fine.”

~!~

Saying he was going to go through with the plan and actually doing so we're two entirely different things. He said he would take Takumi on a field trip disguised date, but he hasn't built the confidence up yet to say anything to the athlete. Part of the hesitation was because he felt like he was deceiving him and like he had ulterior motives, and he couldn't even deny it because it was true. He wanted to hold his hand. He never thought getting someone to tutor would be this complicated; if only he had another student to get some sense of normality back. 

He wasn't going to think about that now since he wanted to think about what would happen if he did go through with the date idea. Just like most aspects of his life he had everything planned out. He was going to start out with mini golf. 

It made sense, he would defend, there could be many ways he could disguise his true intent with cover ups of physics in the activity. It could get harder as the date went on though since he wouldn't mind also watching a movie together and eating a meal was absolutely mandatory. 

Wait… was it?

It's been so long since he's been in the dating field he wasn't even sure anymore. He was about to overthink it, but then he remembered what college student would pass up free food? Of course Leo would pay, he was taking him out on a date. He had the money, or at least he would pretend he did and knew his empty wallet would be worth it if everything went smoothly. 

If it didn't, he wasn't sure what he would do. There was the chance that Takumi would call him out on how date, call him disgusting, and walk away. Okay, maybe not go that far, but he couldn't image how smoothly things would be afterwards if he didn't like the real reason Leo did all he was wanting to do. Part of the planning was bracing himself for rejection. The thoughts made his chest tighten, but he was being realistic. 

When he was prepared for any reaction that could come he was ready to finally ask the question. 

It was about a week later when they were meeting up outside again for the Thursday session. Takumi was the one who suggested it since it was finally sunny again after a few days of dual clouds with light showers in between. Leo wasn't going to tell him no so they were back on the bench with enough space between them to hold the textbook. This session went on without a hitch with only a few stutters involved when Takumi struggled to comprehend a concept. It gave Leo the perfect getaway into launching his plan. 

“Great work today, Takumi. You did wonderful today.”

“Hey, thanks.” Said man showed off the smile that won Leo’s heart and the bashful look made it even more powerful. He wondered how many times he would get to see that smile when he suggested this date. The thought of if pushed him forward to ask what's on his mind. 

“If you don't mind me asking, are you busy next Saturday?” Even though he would like sooner with this Saturday, he figured he should give him more than one days notice. 

Takumi tilted his head as he looked over at one of the flower bushes, thinking over the schedule in his head to see if he could. He didn't need long to think as he soon shook his head. “Nah, I'm working all that weekend.” Which he was thankful for. His hours have been garbage this whole week. “Why?”

As much as he prepared for rejection he somehow overlooked preparing for any sort of scheduling conflicts. He couldn't believe he forgot something so important. “Oh, I see.” Leo’s voice was monotone, but it was better than sounding disappointed like he felt. 

“C'mon you gotta tell me what it is.” He couldn't be left hanging like this, he was far too curious. 

Quick to recover Leo cleared his throat to try again. “You've been doing wonderfully as of late I figured it was time to reward you with more than just praise. So why not go on a field trip?”

Takumi stared at him for a moment with a raised brow before starting to laugh. “A field trip? Leo we’re in college not elementary school.” 

“Any student can go on a field trip.” He remembered going on one senior year of high school. Granted that was the only field trip in his high school days, but his point still stood. 

“You're gonna be the fun teacher aren't you.” He accused with amusement in his voice. 

“Of course, making learning fun makes students want to learn more.”

“And what is it you want to teach exactly?”

“Believe it or not, but environmental science. So there would be many opportunities to go outside and see how it applies in the real world.”

He wasn't sure what he said that make Takumi laugh again, but he didn't regret it since he loved hearing that sound. “I can only imagine.” He never took an environmental science class, but he could only imagine how one would be with Leo in charge. “What did you have in mind for my field trip then?” He was still feeling curious and had to know. 

Even though he was declined the opportunity he decided to explain his small plan anyway. “I was thinking maybe… mini golf and then get something to eat?” Last second he decided to omit the movie idea. It was probably too much in one day and could show his true intentions. 

“I've never been mini golfing before.” Takumi admitted. He's honestly was never interested in any sport outside of archery. 

“There is quite a lot of physics to the activity.” It probably made it sound boring, but he wanted to show that there was a reason to his choice instead of romantic intent. Since it seemed like he was thinking over it, Leo decided to play his best card. 

“It'll be my treat.”

“I'm in!” 

This time it was Leo’s turn to chuckle at how openly Takumi was willing to have fun and save money. It was honestly adorable, but there was still a small problem. “When do you wish to do this?”

“How about this Sunday?”

It was quiet soon for Leo, but he would do anything for Takumi. “That works with me.”

And that was that. 

~!~

It actually wasn't fine for Leo since he was scheduled to work that day. He wasn't going to pass up this opportunity though and he's covered many other coworkers shift, so hopefully one would help him right? Thankfully one coworker named Effie came to his rescue and agreed to switch shifts with him. He owned her his life. 

After the Thursday session Takumi had to leave to head to the practice range to help out the coach so they didn't have much time to plan in person, but there was no need to worry as they worked out the rest of the field trip through text. It was the most they ever texted in one sitting and Leo couldn't help the giddy feeling that fluttered around inside him once he got another message. Texting casually came much easier than talking, but that must be because he was use to talking to him now. They were responding back and forth constantly until Takumi hit him with a silver bullet. 

He sent him a… what was it called again?

Kaomoji, correct?

Odin sent them constantly in the group chat so he should be use to them, but seeing a happy blushing one sent from Takumi was too much for his weak heart. It was far too cute that he had to step away from his phone for a few minutes because he didn't know how to handle it much less respond. He couldn't believe he was missing those when they use to message each other only a few things, but that made discovering it now all the more sweet. The more they planned the more it sounded like a date instead of this disguised field trip and he was starting to worry it would be pointed out, but that never came. 

When Sunday came along he pulled his car up to the dorm rooms, already feeling more giddy than he honestly should. Sure there were certain intentions in this meeting, but this was just a field trip to Takumi and he still had to keep it in that tone. He couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him and ruin this for his student. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Takumi off and everything be ruined. He’d prefer nothing happen over everything falling apart.

Leo stared down at his phone as he took a few calming breath. This idea was presented to him as a date, but it was not, so there was no need to get worked up over anything. When he felt he was calmed enough, he texted Takumi that he was here. He got out of his car to lean against its hood. He didn’t think he would know what his car looked like, so it saw it a natural thing to get out so he would know it was him, but that's where the where thinking normally ended. 

Did leaning against his car hood look weird? Like he was trying to act cool and suave? He wasn't really trying to, he just didn't know where to stand. What did he do with his hands? Should he keep them in his pockets or would that not help his ‘im really not trying to act cool’ image? What should he tell him as a greeting? Maybe he was overthinking that part since he could do their normal hello. This was a normal day after all, well minus the field trip. Did he drive like a normal human being or was he a maniac in the road? He honestly couldn't remember getting any feedback in that regard so he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. Was he dressed too casually?

What if Takumi picked up that this could be seen as a date and tried to make a move? Should he make one back? He would have to admit that he would want to, but the real question was if he had that in him or not. 

Leo took another deep breath to let out after a moment. There was no need to get worked up already. To keep himself calm he started to remember a few formals that could be applied to mini golf. This was a normal study session that was simply off campus. 

Soon Takumi came out of the dorm room and all the calm he had inside him vanished at the sight of him. He was dressed normally too so at least Leo matched in the sense of not being over or under dressed, and he had on his normal Letterman jacket. It fit him so well and he wore it with pride. When the athlete caught sight of him he flashed him with a bright smile and Leo wasn't sure how he'd be able to not embarrass himself by being a blushing mess. 

“Hey, glad you made it.” Takumi spoke once he was close enough, smile smaller now but still powerful enough to make Leo feel weak in the knees. He pushed himself off the hood he was leaning against as it was his turn to speak, voice level and easy unlike his jumping heart. 

“I don't get lost that easily.” He said with a roll of his eyes. Besides, he's been here before so he had the basic idea. He'd like to stop by more too, but that was something Takumi had to initiate. 

“You're not going to get lost getting us to the golf course, are you?” The teasing remark was asked with a tilt of his head and a smirk; it was a reminder that many of his expressions made him weak. 

“I have directions on my phone…,” he started it confidently, but the trailing off and the looking away made Takumi suspicious, “that you may need to look at for me just in case I forget.” He thought he had it memorized quiet well after looking up last night, but now his mind was cluttered with thoughts of Takumi even though he was right in front of him. 

“I can be navigator no problem.” He didn't mind the job since he would prefer that over a spontaneous road trip. 

“Then let the field trip begin.” Seeing Takumi perk up with excitement in his eyes and smile almost knocked him over, but he managed to stay on his feet as he turned around towards his car as the other went to the passenger side. He was about to let himself in before he was suddenly struck with a thought. 

Should he open the door for him? Would that be too date like? Or would it be seen as general manners? The worry soon vanished from his mind as the other asked if the door was unlocked while also testing it. Seeing that it wasn't, he let himself in and Leo followed to do the same. 

He kinda wished he did open the door for him though. 

Leo sat himself in the driver seat, catching a glance over at Takumi as he buckled up since safety was important. He was already settled and buckled in too, phone on his thigh as if he was about to use it, but at the moment he was currently looking around the interior.

“You’re car’s nice.” It had its age to the interior, but it still looked well maintained.

“Thank you,” Leo started with a faint grin. He did like keeping his things looking neat and his car was no exception, “although I must say it looks better than it runs.” Takumi snorted a laugh at that little quip as he looked over at him.

“So how am I dying in this car tonight?”

“You’re not going to die.” Leo rolled his eyes at that as he started the engine, it taking a moment longer than perfectly fine car would before roaring to life. “It’s just that we need to avoid going up hills.” His breaks were great so there was no worry going downhill, but for some reason his car struggles going up any slightly steep incline. Sometimes he took very out of the way detours to avoid one climb. He was happy to hear that comment got a small chuckle out of Takumi.

“Well, I was planning on playing navigator for you anyway, but I don’t think my app has an ‘avoid hills’ feature.” It was the generic map that came installed into the device so it wasn’t anything special.

“If I remember right, the path to the course doesn't involve hills so we should be fine.” If Takumi wanted to help in such a way he was going to make sure he got what he wished for. After telling him the place of the mini golf course, Takumi typed it into the app and waited for it to come up. Once it did, he tapped around a bit more before they had directions from the dorms to the designated area. The path was mapped out for them and both were pretty sure no hills were involved in the path, but it was one of those things one doesn’t pay much attention to until they needed to remember. 

With that covered and Takumi holding on to the directions Leo started to drive. He managed to keep a calm facade, but on the inside he felt like a bundle of nerves. He still felt horrible for deceiving Takumi thinking of this as a date without telling him, but honestly as long as he didn’t make any sort of move to show his true feelings -which he couldn’t bring himself to do- then it wasn’t really anything more than a field trip.

Takumi started up casual conversation which ended up helping him feel calmer. He still kept his eyes on the road and make sure he was heading in the correct direction, but every now and then he would glance over to see Takumi as he spoke. The athlete was an excellent navigator too since he would have missed a turn if he didn’t speak up to remind him that the turn was the next street and not the one Leo was wanting to take. The cherry on top was that there were no hills they needed to cross too.

He lead them efficiently to the mini golf course which Leo was thankful for. It didn’t take too long to find a spot since it seemed like a Sunday at this time wasn’t the busiest hour for them. Neither of them minded as Leo parked and shut off the engine. Once again he wasn’t given the chance to open the door for the other as he was out of the car as soon as he was unbuckled. He still didn’t plan on doing anything too extreme, but at the least if he could say he held open a car door for him he could tell Niles that this experiment was a success. 

When he got out of the car as well he caught sight of the other looking around the open course, huffing a small laugh at the theme that was present which was a very tacky, cheesy, western motif. Leo wasn’t sure what prompted him to speak the first thing that came to his mind, but it was already coming out before he had the chance to think over the words and stop himself.

“You ready to buckle up and ride out, partner?”

Takumi stopped his look over of the course to stare at Leo blankly only to burst into laughter a few moments later. He was barely holding in it to not laugh at the decor since he didn't want to seem like he was laughing at his field trip idea, but there was no way he could keep it in after being told that seriously. “Never say anything like that ever again.” He finally said when he caught his breath. 

Leo didn't mind being laughed at since he would allow his random intrusive thought be taken as a joke. Besides, he did have a beautiful laugh he loved to listen to. “I make no promises.” Especially if he got another laugh at him.  

Together they walked to the shack that held cashier they needed to pay to get into the game. The lady at the register was looking bored and sneaking glances at her phone underneath the counter, but neither of the two seemed to mind as she did put it away somewhere so she could take care of the new customers. She gave her usual greeting with fake excitement even though her eyes said she's been tired of doing this fake country accent for a long time. She had a plastic cowboy hat on that she tipped when asked what she could do for them today. 

Leo was the one who spoke up after looking at the “menu” of golfing options. They just needed the simple pack that gave them one ball each, their club, and complementary cowboy hat. All options had come with that fun accessory no matter what. A scorecard with a small pencil was slid over to rest between them on the counter as the woman started tapping away on the register to accept payment with card. Takumi was the one to pick it up and look over it, but he didn't have much of an idea how to read it. He was planning on asking, but the sound of flopping plastic perked his interest as two cowboy hats with a golf ball resting on the brim were placed down in front of them. 

The lady handed Leo back his card and receipt with the comment to “have a blast now, y'all.” It  was put back in his wallet and now he was staring down at the hat. He wasn't sure if he should actually wear it, it seemed a bit campy, but he figured he should follow along with whatever Takumi was going to do. It might be part of his overthinking nature, but it would be weird if one of them wore the hat and the other wasn't wearing their own. As soon as he looked over at the other his breath caught in his throat. 

Takumi’s hands were up and messing with his hair, pulling it out of its high ponytail style and letting it fall naturally after a shake of his head. He too had the thought of if he should wear the hat or not, but instead of looking over at Leo he looked at everyone else in the park and noticed that all the other customers had theirs on. There was no need to be the odd one out so he decided to partake in the fun. The way his hair was currently styled would of made the hat sit uncomfortably, so he decided to go for a low ponytail instead. When he got his hair settled in the new style he placed the hat on his head, already feeling ready to take on the West with nothing but his sheer putt putt skills. 

Leo wasn't sure when he suddenly developed a thing for long hair, but it might of been when he developed a thing for Takumi. Seeing him mess with it made Leo daydream about holding him close and running his hands through it as they dozed off for an afternoon nap. Maybe that was a bit too specific, but it wasn't the first time he's caught himself daydreaming about certain scenarios. Takumi wasn't aware he was being watched, but neither was Leo as the cashier spoke up. 

“Oh! Sorry y’all I forgot something.” Both of them looked over as the cashier looked under the counter for something. It didn't take long for her to find a pass that was soon handed over to Leo. He stared at it for a moment, taking it as he read that it was a pass for the photo booth. 

“But I didn't order…” He started and trailed off. His pack didn't include this ticket, that was the next one up that was far too expensive for one extra item for the both of them. 

“It's our policy.” She said with what Leo assumed was a wink, but it was hard to tell when her other eye was hidden behind bangs dyed blue that transitioned into pink at the ends. Her day was boring, but now she was getting this feeling she was going to have something fun to watch. “When y’all are finished with the course, hand your ticket over to that fine gentleman Mr. Laslow over there for the pictures.” She pointed over to someone over towards the left who was looking just as bored with his job, but he didn't care about being caught on his phone. “Now have a blast, y'all!”

Leo figured there was no point in arguing, especially since Takumi looked excited over the sudden bonus and was ready to play so mini golf. He thanked the cashier for her generosity and picked up his own hat after moving his ball off the brim. He wasn't sure if he should remove his headband or not, but after realizing he had no idea where to put it he decided to put the hat on his head as is. The double accessory wasn't uncomfortable so he left it be. 

He met Takumi by the putters, catching him looking over and trying to figure out which was best for him by sight alone. The scorecard and pencil were in his Letterman pocket as he finally settled on one that seemed most fitting for his height. Leo willed away the fluttering feeling still inside him since now it was time to act like this was still a field trip. 

“I didn't realize we'd get a cool hat.” Takumi spoke up once Leo was close enough. 

“To be honest, neither did I.”

“You still can't say that stuff you did beforehand.”

“Why not? Now I fit the look.” Leo even tipped his hat as well to try and put on some more charm. Even though he felt a bit embarrassed to do so, he couldn't get over how natural it was for him to speak to Takumi like this even though he developed feelings. He really has come a long way.

“Because you look and sound ridiculous!” 

“Well I think you look and sound mighty fine.” He couldn't believe he just said that either, but it came out so naturally. He was getting comfortable. He didn’t regret it coming out without much thought as much as he thought he would, but that might be because Takumi gave a shy smile and ducked his head. It was hard to tell if he was blushing or not, but as much as he would like to see if he was he didn’t try to get him to look back over at him. He had to admit it felt… good being able to say it so openly, but he knew there were still limits.

With his own putter in hand Leo lead them over to the first hole. It was a simple straight shot from the start to the hole with the only real obstacle being a decorative armadillo off to the side of the cup. It was only in the way if the golfer was directly aiming for it. As much fun as Leo wanted to have this was a field trip after all, and even though he didn’t bring anything to write things down on there was still learning that needed to be done. He motioned for Takumi to putt first which he did by putting his orange ball in the middle tee, but he didn’t hit it just yet which Leo was glad for. There was some information that needed to be shared. 

“Golfing is one of the best sports that shows the principle of trajectory, but mini golf excels at horizontal and ballistic trajectory specifically.” Takumi nodded to show he was listening, cowboy hat flopping a bit in the motion before he reached up to adjust it on his head. The simple action really shouldn't of been so cute. Moving on. “Do you recall the definition of trajectory?” They studied it briefly at the last session before this trip.

Takumi looked up as if the brim of his new hat had the answer. It must of as he soon spoke up not that long later. “It’s like a flight path that an object in motion follows through space as a function of time.”

“Correct.” Leo couldn’t help but say with a smile. “Now to bring that back to mini golf. If the ground in the direction of the shot is perfectly flat, perfectly uphill, or perfectly downhill, then hitting the ball into the hole is simply a matter of hitting it along a straight line, directly into the hole. However, sometimes the ground is sloped such that the ball trajectory cannot be a straight line in order to enter the hole. In this instance hitting the ball into the hole is a much more complicated matter. The ball must follow a precise curved path in order to enter the hole.”

“Got it.” Takumi said as he looked over this current hole while also getting a sneak peak at the other ones around them. This should be easy, but some others were going to be a challenge. 

“We have a ball which is a constant mass, but now we need our velocity which…” Leo trailed off, but it was not because he was thinking of calculations, but to prompt Takumi to provide the answer.

“Which I provide?”

“Correct, how much power do you think is needed to make a hole in one?”

Takumi didn’t answer, but Leo wasn’t completely looking for one since it was a go to start playing. There really was so much studying he could involve since they didn’t need to hog a hole in order to do some physics, so they needed to get to the point. He got into position and looked down at the hole, thinking for a moment before finally hitting the ball. It traveled down the green at a moderate speed before reaching the cup. It was almost too strong of a hit, but it bounced off the back of the dip in the ground before landing in the cup for an easy hole in one. He made a small noise of victory before he started to walk down the course to retrieve his ball. Once he did, he moved out of the way. “You’re turn, sheriff.”

A warm chuckle left Leo at the nickname as he got into position. There was really no need to explain everything again as he placed his own purple ball into the middle tee. He watched how Takumi hit the ball to get a hole in one, but he wasn’t sure how to repeat that power just by looking alone. After guessing how much he should hit it, he hit the ball with his putter and watched it roam down the green. It wasn’t enough and the ball stopped a few inches in front of the hole. That was a bit disappointing, but it would of been worse if he didn’t make it in on his second putt which was thankful not the case. When he retrieved his own ball he made his way over to Takumi who was scribbling on the scorecard the best he could with nothing to really write on and a small pencil. 

“At the least you’re still on par.” Takumi said as he turned the card towards him to see. During Leo’s turn he ended up writing his name on the first line with the blond’s on the second and their score for the hole. It was a lot easier to understand once he actually looked over it, and even though some thing still confused him he at least knew what being on par was since that was almost common knowledge. What being over or under par was specifically called was lost on him though, but that probably wasn’t needed.

“You want to keep score?” He honestly forgot about being handed the little piece of paper once he noticed Takumi fussing with his hair. He didn’t realize the athlete still grabbed it to use as intended. 

“Yeah, I thought it would be fun. Do you not want to?”

“No, it’s alright. We can if you wish.”

A smirk appeared on Takumi’s face and he was very happy he got to keep the card, but Leo was still never going to deny him anything. “Good, because I was thinking some friendly competition is in order.” 

Even though Leo brought on this plan of mini golf as a field trip, in all honesty, he didn’t care to bring forth any learning element. He just wanted to have a good time with Takumi. Niles was right, he did need an excuse, but now that he was out here he didn’t want to bring that excuse up anymore. He already brought up physics once, so at least he could say he did what he did his job as a tutor. Competition sounded much better than constantly spouting physics nonsense. 

“And what does the winner get, exactly?”

Takumi took a moment to think before coming up with something. “The winner gets to choose where to go eat afterwards.”

“I was going to let you pick anyway.”

A brief pout appeared on Takumi’s face and Leo almost clutched his chest. He really can be too cute whenever he wanted too, but suddenly instead of wanting to keep the professional facade, he wanted to intentionally cause more of those cute expressions. He wasn’t sure where this sudden surge of confidence was coming from, but he wasn’t going to question it in case it vanished. “Then the loser dose whatever the winner wants, that’s what most people do anyway.”

“Deal.” Leo agreed to the conditions. Even with this sudden confidence, the idea of getting something romantic out of winning wasn’t on his mind. He was really bad at those sort of things and still hasn’t gotten any better as he participates in many ‘loser does whatever winner wants’ bets with his roommates. Usually it was something small like clean everything in the apartment so he doesn't have to, but he obviously couldn’t do that with his crush . 

“Deal.” Takumi agreed, holding a free hand out to shake on it. Leo reached out to return the gesture, wishing to hold on a bit longer. It was one of those things he daydreamed about before. The handshake didn’t last long as soon they both pulled away. Now the thought of maybe his winning favor being able to hold hands again crossed his mind, but he ended up pushing it to the side. He had to win first off. It wasn’t a priority as the look in amber eyes told Leo that Takumi was feeling more competitive than him, but it would still be nice.

“This course ain’t big ‘nough for the two of us.” Leo added one last jab just to hear Takumi yell for him to stop in the middle of laughter.

They moved on to the next hole and no physics lessons were given, but neither cared. Once again Takumi went first as he placed his ball down in the tee, eyeing the course as he thought of the best way to get a hole in one. It was still simple with only one curve, and even though a hole in one would be harder it was still possible. Beginners luck wasn’t on his side this time as it took two hits for the ball to make it in the hole, but he was there to remind Leo that he was still on par especially when the blond took three shots to make it in. The competitiveness was simply another adorable feature that make Takumi himself.

There was a constant back and forth between the holes with either Leo taking less strokes or Takumi doing so. It was a neck to neck race until the final hole came. Takumi has heard of the infamous windmill in mini golf courses, but now he was in front of one.

Well… sort of.

Apparently a typical windmill did not fill the wild west decoration as instead of there was a cutout of a cartoon cowboy with a lasso in hand. He was squat with chaps, a mean bearded mug, and looked ready to kick anyone in the shins since he stood only three feet tall at most. The arm holding the loop end of the lasso was moving and would get in the way of the hole in a “timed” loop.

“I can’t believe this hole is a par seven.” Takumi spoke up as he looked over the final challenge. Maybe he could, not only is the cowboy in the way, apparently named McCree if the course’s  title was anything to go off of, but it was long with many curves with the animatronic being the final boss before the hole. The reason he spoke was because it was a jump from all the previous holes with the second highest par only being four.

“Are you too intimidated to putt? I’ll take my prize now, thank you.” Leo spoke up, head tilted up in a since of pride since it was the easiest victory ever.

“Not a chance.” Takumi snorted at the idea of giving up. He’s never done such, and he wasn’t going to do so now even if the animatronic just said it was “High Noon” when he stepped up to the tee. “Let me show you how it’s done, soon to be loser.”

“You’ve never played putt putt in your life and you’re showing me how its done? Great, now I know what not to do.” The friendly trash talk started somewhere around hole 4 and has persisted ever since. Leo didn’t mind at all, it was obvious how it was all fun and games with how many laughs and friendly sabotages they’ve pushed onto each other. On one hole Leo’s suffered an extra stroke once Takumi pushed his hat down to cover his eyes and on another Leo got revenge by  _ accidentally  _ stopping the orange ball with his putter right before he made it in the cup.

“Silence now the pro is playing.” And it was starting to show. Sure putt putt was a child’s game at most, but he was getting the hang of it quiet quickly. Takumi only went through one over half of his strokes before reaching the cowboy. He squared up with the cutout as if it was a showdown and the scene would of reminded him of a certain moment with his roommates if he wasn’t so love struck and infatuated with the athlete. The look he was giving the cutout made his heart flutter and he wouldn’t mind it if Takumi looked at him that way. Even though all the teasing and talk they did Leo managed to not sport a blush, but it was starting to feel like he was going to fail. After the initial stare down Takumi hit the ball which went right pass the cowboy and into the hole. “Ha! Two under par! I told you the pro was playing.” Even his smug look was too much.

“Two under is nothing. I bet I can get three under.” Leo bragged as Takumi came back over to his side. The last hole kept the ball to be reused for the next customer, so there was nothing for him to retrieve.

“Oh I’m sure you can.” He mocked with no real bite, but his smile was contagious and soon Leo had a matching one of his own as he placed his ball on the tee. He wasn’t really sure if he could actually get three under par, but he sure as all hell was going to try. So far he was successful with two powerful strokes that almost bounced his ball off the course on the second one. Thankfully he didn’t and was now staring down at the cowboy who told him to “step right up.”

Takumi was able to get it in one stroke so surely he could too, but there was still a reason that this course was par seven. Leo hit the ball and the lasso came down to stop its motion, making it bounce and roll farther back than where Leo was originally standing. He frowned at the purple sphere before standing next to it. That’s fine, he still had one more shot to get three under. He could do it this time and win the game. Maybe. As much as he took part in the competitiveness he hasn’t been watching the scorecard too intensely. The athlete was the one keeping score anyway. He tried again.

“I thought you were going to get it three under par?” 

“Don’t worry about it- I’ll still get it under par.” Another shot.

A frown. Another.

“Looks like I won this hole, buckaroo.”

“Hush; don’t ruin my concentration.”

Another. Another. Another. Who the hell was controlling this stupid cowboy’s arm and why were they always making it come down on him. His hand eye coordination was not  _ this  _ bad and he knew it. After the tenth hit was a swing and a miss, Leo leaned on his putter in defeat. Takumi tutted as he came over to his side, patting his back and making warmth spread across him. Suddenly losing this hole didn’t feel that bad, but he did realize that meant losing the whole competition too.

“We’re only allowed ten strokes per hole, partner. Looks like ya need to leave town as I’m the new king of the wild, wild west.”

A snicker left Leo as he picked up his ball and straightened up. “Why are you allowed to talk like that and I’m not?” He question as he walked around the cowboy now calling him his huckleberry to manually place his ball into the cup. 

“Because I won!”

Leo shook his head with a smile as he went over to put up his putter, Takumi following behind to do the same. He reached up to take off his hat before the other stopped him by telling him to wait. “What is it?”

“We did not wear these dumb hats this whole time to take them off before the photo booth.” Leo perked up at that. He forgot he still had the little ticket in his wallet.

“I suppose your right. We can’t forget that.” Especially since it was free. The duo made their way over to the guy the front cashier pointed out. He must not be getting paid enough to care as he didn’t have the same faked accent as he told them that they would be getting two strips of the same four photos after being handed the ticket. He did tell them it was cramped in there so “have fun.”

Leo held the curtain open for Takumi to slide in first which he did. The man was right as when Leo was sat down their shoulders and knees were touching. It was obvious this booth was just a cash grab by the owner without any real thought of sizing, but since Takumi didn’t seem to care he decided to not as well. “What should we do?”

“I’m not sure,” Takumi started with a shrug, looking over at him, “what do you-” Although they were given a warning that the booth was small they were not given a warning that the timer was short as well. The first picture went off with an audible snap before he could finish speaking. A preview was show with the athlete with his mouth open and his eyes closed and the tutor’s face a blur as he was turning to face him. “Why is it so fast- aw shit my hat!” Takumi was raising his hand up to try and point to the screen at the short timer in the corner, but he didn’t have the most room for his arm as he accidentally knocked his hat off that fell at Leo’s feet.

The next picture snapped off with only the top of Takumi’s head showing as he leaned down to pick up his new beloved possession. Leo was looking at the screen when the picture took and his expression was telling. He could see how the position could be compromising as he was wide eyed with his mouth slightly agape and a blush across the bridge of his nose. 

Takumi straightened with his hat back of his head and noticed that picture. “Oh god that's so bad!” Even though it was suggestive and even though he might of been embarrassed in any other scenario, he was still in high spirits and laughing. “Quick! We need to have at least one good one! How about the usual peace signs?” It was his go to and if the next snap was anything to go off of, it was the only chance they had left.

“Sounds good to me.” Leo shifted as he faced the camera, smiling softly as he lifted his left hand to give peace. Takumi wanted more than the calm version of the pose though as he slung his left arm around Leo’s shoulder and pulled him closer, smiling brightly as he gave peace with his right hand. Leo managed to keep his smile even though his blush was more red. The last picture went off and they were allowed to pick a theme for their four pictures. 

Of course, it was all the same general theme, but at least they could choose between horses, cattle, or cacti. Leo was given the chance to choose and ended up going with horses. Horses were cool. It was the last thing they needed to do and they were told to leave the booth and pick up their printing pictures. Since he had to the blond got out first and once again held the curtain open for the other. Immediately Takumi went over to wait by the tray that held the printed out pictures. He stepped closer to Leo for them to both look at.

“Damn that timer was really fast! We only got one good one.” The first was talking, the second was misleading, the third was more talking and the last was finally the pose.

“I think they still look nice.” Leo stated as they moved off to the side to not get in the way of whoever needed the booth next. At some point in their walk, Takumi ripped the two sets of pictures apart to give  Leo his own copy.

“Yeah, I guess they aren’t that bad. At least we aren’t a blurry mess in three of them.”

“I wasn’t trying to be a blurry mess okay.” Takumi just laughed as he placed the strip in his jacket pocket. It was the safest spot for it until he got back to his dorm. “Anyway, you won. So what would you like your favor to be?” He wasn’t sure what he could possibly come up with so he wanted to hurry up and hear it already.

“You know, I actually didn’t think that far.” Takumi admitted with a chuckle. “I’ll think about it later; right now I’m starving. Where should we eat?” There was nothing else to do here so the two of them started to walk back to Leo’s car.

“Why don’t we keep this wild west theme going? I know just the place.”

“If you don’t do any of that talk, then I’m game.”

Leo still made no promises, but he only hummed a laugh as he got his keys out of his pocket. Takumi was making his way to the passenger side of the door once more removing the chance for him to open it for the other, but he was too caught up on the picture strip to remember wanting to do that. He was too caught on the fourth photo to pay attention to the third. Now that he was looking, there was only one way he could describe how he was looking at Takumi. His eyes were gentle and caring, the tint of pink was still on the bridge of his nose and smile was soft.

It was too obvious.

“C’mon Leo unlock the door already!”

“R-Right! Sorry.” 

Not the time.   
  



	9. 128√ (e980)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the break! I work retail and it was the holidays, you know how it be lmao.  
> Anyway, another excuse, I honestly wasn't sure which direction to go with this chapter. I had many ideas, but they felt like needless drama and this is to stay a fluffy ride sooooo yea.  
> This note will be deleted once I go through and reedit everything so enjoy reading it while you can <3

“And then we went to eat and this steak house and it was  _ so good.  _ I honestly was thinking something like fast food when he gave me the choice on where to eat, but then he said he had a place in mind and I forgot all about that. I'm really glad I did though, even as leftovers this stuff is delicious.” Takumi was explaining what happened yesterday to Hinata and Oboro who were eating their own meal. They liked having dinners together, but they didn't always want to go out, so Takumi was having his last night’s dinner while his two friends had microwave meals. 

“How big was your steak? You have a lot there.” As Takumi was explaining his tale Oboro listened along without interjecting much. She didn't mind; this was one of those rare times that the archer was the most talkative out of the three of them. 

“God I don't even know! Leo just told me to get whatever I wanted and not to worry about the price.” Even though he was given free range he still didn't go for the most expensive option. He found a nice middle ground meal and went with that. “Their proportions were a lot bigger than I expected too- you guys should of seen the baked potato that came with it.” But now what was left of that was a moderate portion of mashed potatoes. 

“Why don't you let me get whatever I want?” Oboro turned to look Hinata, asking the question with a look of feigned jealousy. The flat look still caused an “Eep” to leave him as he gave his reason after slurping up a noodle. 

“Because you always want the most expensive thing!”

“We can always split it.”

“But I don’t want to split prime rib! I want chicken strips!”

“Who gets chicken strips when prime rib is an option?!”

“Me!”

The chemistry from dating since high school showed as the two went back and forth. Takumi stayed silent as they had their friendly debate, happily eating his food as he waited for them to calm down. He's already offered both of them a bite which they took and agreed it was amazing, but they were still missing out what it was like fresh. Now he had the rest for himself which he was definitely taking advantage of. Finally they stopped discussing and Hinata turned to speak to him. 

“Did you wear your new hat into the restaurant?” Said plastic hat was resting on his desk with the photo strip secured in the hatband to act like a makeshift picture frame. It was temporary until he got a proper place to put both souvenirs, but now he was started to like the look with how out of place it was with the rest of his belongings. 

“Of course not.” He snorted at the idea. “We took them off as soon as we got back in his car.” Even though it would of been fitting since the steak house did have the same, albeit less corny, western motif the mini golf course did. 

“Can I wear it?”

“Get your own!” He worked hard for that hat and deserved it. It was the crown of the putt putt king of the west which was him.

“Can I see the pictures though?” Oboro asked as she placed her half eaten meal off to the side. She hasn't gotten the chance when she arrived since she wanted to hear the story from Takumi before seeing the evidence. When she was given the go ahead with a nod and a hum, Hinata held out a hand he freed up to take her meal which she gave to him. She got up from her boyfriend’s bed to make it over to her friend’s desk, gently picking up the photo strip to stare at as she made her say back to her spot. 

“I told you we weren't ready for that timer at all. I haven't been in a photo booth in a long ass time, but I'm pretty sure the timer is at least twenty seconds between each photo. That one was more like two.” Now that she was looking at it she couldn't accuse him of exaggerating anymore. 

“The second one's my favorite.” Hinata chimed in, Oboro’s meal set on the desk right by his bed so he could continue eating his food. 

“I told you already I knocked my hat off on accident.” Of course the inappropriate one was the one he liked. 

“Then explain Leo’s reaction.” It was still Hinata speaking, but after looking past the first two failed photos his girlfriend didn't care about them anymore. She was stuck on the third. 

“Because he knew it was embarrassing and gets flustered easily.”

“You two have that in common.”

“Shut up.” It was drawn out with only partial defiance. He wasn't mad, but he didn't like being called out on that personality trait of his. 

“I wish you would look at me like that.” Oboro finally spoke and tilted the picture towards Hinata, pointing to Leo in the third picture in particular. 

“What are you talking about?” Takumi and Hinata spoke up in unison for different reasons. Takumi was genuinely curious of what sort of look someone was giving who while Hinata wanted to know how he wasn't looking at Oboro in the way she liked. 

“I do look at you like that.” Hinata whined as he saw her what she was specifically referring to. 

Now Takumi was very curious. “No, really, what are you guys talking about.” He placed his food off to the side as he gently got up from the bed to not knock his plate over. He made his way over to sit on the other side of Oboro, catching her finger pointing at the third square. 

“Have you not seen the way he's looking at you here? Hinata looks at me like that all the time.” She pointed out, both of them ignoring the touched noise from said man in background. 

“Not… really… I was too busy staring at the second and fourth.” He still liked them, especially the last one for better reasons, but now he was able to really look at it. He couldn't remember a time someone stared at him with such adoration before, and now there was proof right in front of him. He wasn't sure of the name of this feeling. 

“Are you sure this was a tutoring thing?” Oboro ask as she placed the pictures in her lap and looked over at her friend. She didn't know much about Leo personally besides what her two friends told her, but the set of pictures told a lot more than they ever did. “What did you learn physics wise?”

“I learned some trajectory stuff.” He mumbled in response, trying to remember anything else. “We… only covered that on the first hole though.” But now it was all gone and he couldn’t remember all they talked about. He was pretty sure the word ballistic was brought up though, but that was the end of it. There was a silence between them as they processed this new information, but Takumi spoke up again before conclusions could be made. “What kinda teacher assigns homework on a field trip? Leo’s too much of a fun tutor to do that- he said so himself.”

“That may be true, but really though, just look at that face.” As if he already forgot, Oboro pushed the picture right in his field of view. He had to backup to get a clearer look at the picture he thought he's seen many a time since getting it yesterday, but now he was seeing it in a different light. Both held their position for a minute, Hinata glancing between the two of them before focusing on Takumi when he ducked his head with a blush. 

“Do you see what I mean now?” Oboro asked as she rested the pictures on her lap. “Hinata looked at me the exact same way before we started dating. I would say he was more obvious than Leo, but looking at this I honestly doubt it.”

After a moment to think over what he was being told he held out his hand to take the strip which she handed over. He looked at the third panel with a growing blush, unsure what to do with this new information. “He hasn't… said anything…”

“But has he acted like someone with a crush?”

Hinata’s quip made him go into a moment of silence again as he thought back on how Leo acted around him. The first sessions were normal, friendly as he helped him learn, but did anything change? He squinted at the pictures, trying to remember. There were times when they accidentally touched did he notice Leo stiffen and blush, but he figured that was because he wasn't a very touchy person himself. He moved on to some other moments, remembering the once they talked about Niles which turned into him commenting his his hair looked soft. He figured it was because he hasn't given such a compliment before, but he was able to praise his smarts so easily. 

Then there was the golf trip. When he was there he didn’t look at it in a romantic light at all, but now that mood was in his head and he started to replay the scenarios. The teasing trash talk could be seen as flirting, but that could be a stretch and dismissed as competition. When they were cramped in the photo booth that could be seen as a personal space sort of deal. When Leo was tipping his hat and putting on a fake drawl saying he looked and sounded nice was just a character he was playing, right?

It could be both, he soon realized. A character being played to show true feelings before going back to the version he knew- and he told him to stop it. Was that seen as a rejection? The possibility was quickly tossed his side. He said no cause it was silly and made him laugh too hard and Leo still persisted with the occasional accent through the trip.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

“I don’t know…” Takumi finally murmured out an answer, mostly giving it because he wasn’t sure what a crush was suppose to act like in regard to him. He’s had crushes on people that were just a mild thing that lasted a week, but he’s never been aware of it being the other way around. Sure some girls showed interest in him, but he always interpreted that “girls likes the nice sport guy” but now, a guy was crushing on him. Even more, it was a good friend.

“How long has it been since you’ve dated someone?” Hinata spoke up as he noticed the small crisis his friend was currently going through.

“I don’t know maybe… 8th grade?” He had a girlfriend for a month until summer vacation came and they never spoke to each other again for no reason. When he entered high school and later on college he was too busy with archery and his athletic career to even consider a girlfriend, much less a boyfriend. 

“Do you even like guys?’ Oboro spoke with a tilt of his head. Might as well get that obstacle discussed now while it was right in front of him.

“I never really considered it.” He never really considered relationships in general until this problem was suddenly before him. He’s been too busy with his favorite sport to even develop a type. What did he even like in people romantically? Did he even like people?

“Well… he’s really nice!” Hinata spoke up once again, wanting to get rid of the odd air that filled the room when Takumi was suddenly questioning his sexuality. “A good friend like that makes a good boyfriend, right honey?” He expected a response from anyone, really wanting anything to be said to put back the usual mood, but nothing came. Takumi was blushing more and trying to hide it behind one of his hands while Oboro gently took the pictures from his other hand so it wouldn’t fall to the ground. His grip looked loose enough to do so. She got up from her spot again to place the strip back into the band of the hat, glancing behind her to see how her friend was coping from a different angle. The answer was not very well.  

It wasn’t surprising considering the light he was looking on things was now in the tone of being in a relationship with Leo. The study sessions were the same minus staying to talk a little longer. He could see them spending more time outside the two usual days together, but the biggest thing of all the golf field trip and the picture made a lot more sense. “What do I do?” He was lost in every aspect.

Thankfully he wasn’t alone as Oboro made her way back to his side. “I would first see if his crush is real or not. It looks that way to me, but it’s best to ask the man himself.” She watched Takumi slowly nod in agreement.

“I could ask him tomorrow, but I don’t want to do so in the library… or outside…” Or really in a public place in general, but he trailed off to let that part be implied.

“You guys can meet up here again. I’ll leave to give you guys time if you want?” Hinata offered up. He could understand wanting privacy and figured the dorm would be easiest.

“Y-Yeah, yeah okay.” Since that was tomorrow he needed to alert Leo of these changed plans now. He got off Hinata’s bed to make his way over to his desk where his phone was charging. He didn’t realize his hands were slightly shaking as he pulled up past messages with the blond to send him a new next. He couldn’t understand the nerves, but he supposed it was because he wasn’t sure how to ask. After scrolling up to remember how he asked for a change in scenery that got them to study outside again, he copied his old message almost word for word while still making sure to change “outside” to “at his dorm.” He pressed send without thinking of rereading anything, placing his phone back on the desk face down and sitting on his bed to wait for a response. One should come eventually since they weren’t having a late dinner.

“You’re acting strange.” Oboro was quick to point out.

“I don’t know how else to act! I’ve… never been in this situation before.” He had all these new feelings jumbling up inside of him and didn’t know how to handle the sudden onslaught. It was about a minute later when his phone went off with a buzz. He leaned over to pick it up, reading it over before his shoulders stiffened. “He asked why; what do I say?” He never asked why before, but then again he never asked to study in his dorm again after that test.

“I don’t know, that you want to talk in private?” Hinata suggest and Oboro actually agreed to it. “There really isn’t a need to lie.”

“Yeah, you’re right- okay.” His posture was still stiff and uncertain, but at least the message was properly sent.

~!~

“He said he wants to talk! What does that mean?” Leo suddenly shouted, looking scared at his phone. What was worse was that there was no other context- just that he wanted to talk. Didn’t he know that always makes people’s anxiety skyrocket?

“It means you made me spill the popcorn; the fuck.” Niles grumbled as he started to pick up some pieces that fell on the ground. Currently the trio was resting on the couch enjoying their traditional movie night. Odin was at one end of the couch, Leo on the other, and Niles was laying on his back in between them with his head in the later’s lap. He was holding the bowl of popcorn on his chest that all three of them were picking from. The movie wasn’t that interesting to Leo, honestly car movies weren’t his thing, so he wasn’t really paying attention. No one cared when he pulled his phone out when he felt it vibrate until he suddenly yelled out, quickly adjusting his position which lifted Niles’ head up to knock a handful of popcorn to the couch and floor.

“What are you talking about?” Odin asked as he paused the movie. He was the one who suggested it to watch so of course he wanted to see it.

“Takumi texted me saying he wants to meet at his dorm tomorrow instead of our library spot to talk. What does that mean?”

“That means he wants to talk.” Niles deadpanned without looking over.

“This is serious, Niles!”

“Well did he say why he wanted to?”

“No… should I ask him?”

“Might as well.” He was off the floor and was heading to the kitchen to throw away the pieces that were ruined. On the way there he was mumbling how he was making more and that Odin gets to be his head rest now because he deserves it. Now that there wasn’t a body in between them, the other blond scooted closer to see what the fuss was about. Leo held his phone in his lap for both of them to see the conversation. Even though he knew what he wanted to say, wording it seemed to be a problem. He wanted to come off as nonchalant and that he wasn't thinking the worst. In the ended he texted that that was alright with asking why. 

A response came a few moments later with that there were a few things on his mind with no context given once again. It was making him awfully worried. Leo texted back asking if everything was alright and all he got was a simple yes. 

He wasn't sure if he could pry for any more, but he was positive he wanted to. There was a chance he was lying saying everything was okay since that was easy to do over messages. Leo still didn't want to leave it at that me instead asked if he still wished to study what they were to cover next. 

Between the small back and forth from earlier responses came fairly quick, but now there was a lull. He wasn't sure if Takumi suddenly became busy or if he was thinking it over, but it did not help Leo’s current state of mind. He honestly wasn't sure which response he preferred more, no would have them get to the point of what he wanted to talk about - it had to be important if he was being vague he would logically think- and yes would mean things would be for the most part normal. Even then, who knew if they actually would sit down to study after this talk, given that it would be beforehand. 

It felt like hours when in reality it was minutes for Takumi to respond, once more giving a simple yes that they could. There was no capitalization or punctuation, but he couldn't help but wish that there was at least a Kaomoji again afterwards. Then he would know that everything was completely fine. 

He wasn't sure what else he could say after than and even waited a bit longer for the other to respond something else, but nothing came. With a sigh he decided that the conversation had ended and sent a message saying that he would see him outside the dorms Tuesday. Such a simple message took a lot longer than anticipated since he wasn't sure if he should add a goodnight at the end, but Odin convinced him to add it anyways. With the goodnight added he pressed send and hoped for the best. At the least, Takumi mimicked him with a goodnight of his own and that he’ll see him then. 

“See, that wasn't so bad.” Odin spoke up to comfort him, scooting back to his original spot on the couch once Niles was back with fresh, new popcorn. Just like he original grumbled, he was now laying with his head in Odin’s lap with his legs propped in Leo’s. 

“I'm still worried.” Leo admitted as he locked his phone to place to the side. “He could want to talk about anything.” Both good or bad, but of course he was currently in a negative mindset. 

“Don't think too much about it and get yourself worked up over nothing.” Niles waves off, already starting to devour his new bowl of popcorn. He’ll probably make another before the movie ended. He’ll need to if he was going to share with his roommates.

“I guess…” Leo mumbled, uncertain. Normally it was solid advice, but he still couldn’t get rid of the queasy feeling in the bottom of his stomach. He wondered if he should text back asking if he was absolutely positive everything was alright, but he could understand how annoying that could be perceived. He already asked anyway, he didn’t want to make another problem form all because he couldn’t take Takumi’s word at face value. He could of done so as a boyfriend, but not as a friend.

He wasn’t too sure when Odin decided they were all set to play the movie again, but Leo didn't care. He was too busy shaking off stupid thoughts like the one before. Stupid thoughts always came to him when he was feeling anxious over something and now was obviously no exception. If he didn’t have no idea what was happening in the movie before he definitely didn’t now. His friends didn’t notice the internal struggle he was currently dealing with, but he didn’t want to ruin the movie more than he already has. Some things he had to face on his own and not always ask his friends for help- he was an independent man.

All there was left to do was wait and see what the problem was tomorrow, but he honestly wasn’t sure if it was a wait he could survive. He was already more anxious than he ever wanted to be over the possibilities. If there was one thing he knew it was that he didn’t want to lose contact with Takumi- tutor wise, friendship wise, any of it. 

~!~

Tuesday came and Leo started to wander pass the library. He almost auto piloted his way to their usual spot in the hope of normality, but he soon remembered the few texts sent back and forth and all the worry came back to him in a wave. He left the library and started to make his way over to the dorms on campus. A drive would be easier, but he needed the walk to help ease his nerves instead of the short drive to pull his car closer to the building. There was no need to show how rattled a simple conversation made him when he was suppose to be the calm leveled headed teacher.

Everything was fine, for all he knew it was just another friendly hang out sort of session since Takumi enjoyed himself so much on their Sunday trip. He sure worded it funny if that was the case, but now was the time for positive thinking after all the negativity in his mind thinking the worst yesterday. Maybe he enjoyed himself so much that he wanted to do something like that again right now.

He was suppose to be getting his worries down not his hopes up. Now he had to will away the growing fuzzy feeling too. There was no way that Takumi would want to plan something so spontaneous, especially knowing how Leo liked things planned out. Surly he wouldn’t pull something like that on him, but maybe he would make an exception with Takumi- he was quiet biased with his crush. 

When he was coming up to the building he pulled out his phone to let Takumi know he was here so he could meet him at the entrance and let him in. When he was finally face to face with him would be the real moment of truth to see if they could both act normal. This walk helped him more than he expected so it should be easy for him at the least. Whatever Takumi’s mood was has the capacity to easily change that though. There wasn't a need to look at the downside, he was thinking positive now. 

It took Takumi longer than he imagined it would, but he wasn't going to overthink of the possible reason why. He could of been busy with something mundane, not rehearsing what he was going to say and act like in reality. When he saw him coming down the halls, Leo offered a gentle smile that was returned from the other inside the building, but it didn't last long as he ducked his head and opened the door. He didn't mind too much. 

When they were both outside, Leo started the conversation after the initial hello. “Decided on another change of scenery?” Leo wasn't complaining though, his dorm was nice and quiet if the roommate wasn't around. As much as he did fantasize certain scenarios with his crush, being alone in Takumi’s room was not one of them. His little fantasies could happen anywhere. 

“Y-Yeah.” Leo didn't think a simple question could cause an embarrassed stutter, but he didn't get to question it outside of a raised brow as he continued on. “Figured the peace and quiet would be nice.”

“You're roommate isn't around?” It was obvious, but he still found it best to ask just in case. He didn't mind Hinata as long as he wasn't constantly interrupting them. If their shared English class was anything to go off of, it was sometimes possible. 

“No, no, I told him to leave.” The stutter didn't return, but the nervous undertone stayed. Leo was starting to get a little worried again.

“You didn't need to kick him out.” Desperate for the causal air to return Leo jabbed a light joke with a chuckle. “I wouldn't of minded him simply watching- I wouldn’t be bothered teaching you both either.” Physics was something everyone should have some knowledge of. 

“Nah, he… needed to leave.”

“What?” Leo didn't get the chance to ask if Hinata himself needed to leave to do something or Takumi thought it should be just the two of them. He was talking normally, he wouldn't think much of it, but this tone of voice was… uncertain if he had to describe it. All the preparation for a normal talk and study session were out the window as he realized that the  _ we need to talk  _ text was a serious matter. He didn't get the chance to ask if everything was alright in person either. 

“Anyway,” Takumi was quick to turn around back towards the entrance door, pulling out a card to unlock it, “let's go.” As much as Leo wished to question what was going on he decided to let it be. It seemed the conversation was done with anyway according to his counterpart. Leo was never the best at these sort of situations nor felt it was right to continue in public, so he decided to let it be as he followed him inside the dorm house. Nothing was said in the walk to Takumi’s dorm, which while was something Leo normally didn’t mind -they didn’t need to constantly talk- this time it felt… off. He hoped for once that he was just too in his head and over analyzing things, but there was always that what if. 

They stopped in front of Takumi’s dorm as he pulled his key back out of his pocket. There was still a silence between them as the smaller of the two opened the door for the blond. The quiet between them was finally broken as he said his thank you towards the manners, but that was the extent of that small talk.

Just like he said the room was void of the other inhabitant, but Leo still couldn’t help but do another look over. It felt like such a long time ago since he’s been in here and not much has changed. The beds looked made this time, but he didn’t see that as something big- especially when the new setup on Takumi’s desk caught his attention. His own matching hat was hidden in his closet (yes he still loved it since it was a memento from his not really date with Takumi, it's just that his roommates can be cats and play with it until it's broken. He wants to keep it safe and his closet was the current safest spot.) but the photo strip was tacked to the wall right by his desk with a few other pictures of family. Every now and then when he was working on school work he would glance up and see the four pictures out of the corner of his eye. Even though they only had one good one where they were both ready for the shot, he still loved every picture. It made him fall in love even more and day dream of real dates. It made him realize how much of a hopeless, sappy, romantic he was. He never realized he had the trait.

“Your display would make the golf course proud.” In another attempt to make Takumi feel at ease he started up conversation. He wasn’t sure why he was coming across as so on edge, maybe he would explain why and what he wanted to talk about after the session, but he wanted to help him rid of the feeling. It seemed to help somewhat, like Takumi was trying too to match the casual air, but he wasn’t quite there yet.

“I don’t have that much space and I want to keep it out.” His voice was level as he came over to stand right next to him. Noticing the improvement in his voice, Leo glanced over to see just how much he recovered. His body posture was still stiff. “Do you think it’s tacky?” It was a genuine question that was asked with a look over, but amber eyes couldn’t match brown as Takumi soon looked back down at the hat and pictures. Leo wasn’t sure why the other was blushing over something like this.

“No, I think it looks better than what I’ve done. My hat is stored away and my pictures are stuck to a wall.”

“Must be nice to have space.” Leo blinked with a blank expression as he watched him turn around to grab his usual supplies to start the study session. It wasn’t the response he expected at all much less the reaction. He didn’t know how to react to it at all, making him pause as he tried to think of what to do next with himself.

“Right… well… let’s get started, yes?” All he got was a nod.

Hmm.

It was easier this time around to join Takumi on the bed since he knew it was expected. Now with the extra decorations there really was no way for them to both fit at the desk for one. Leo was back in his spot from the very first time and the other was in the spot by the head of the bed. He wondered if he would move over closer at some point in their study, but that wasn’t something he could request. With both of them settled with all the supplies they needed either in their lap or between them, Leo started the lesson. 

From where they left off with trajectory, Leo flipped the pages in the textbook to the right spot and pushed it closer to Takumi. Now in the mindset of studying he seemed to be more at ease which was all Leo could really ask for. Once more he covered some basics of what they went over on their golf trip before getting into more detail. It’s been a few days and they didn’t cover much once they were out on Sunday, so he found a refresher was needed. When it looked like Takumi once more understood the basics, it was time to start the equations and understand the formulas.

For some reason today was struggle for Takumi to understand the concepts, and while partially Leo could understand based on how he was acting earlier, it was becoming obvious that whatever was on his mind was affecting him more than he was letting on. Another practice equation done that needed reviewing. Another practice equation done that was incorrect. 

“The formula we needed her was for horizontal distance - “x=Vₓt”- and you wrote…. I’m not sure what this is.” Two parts were gone and all that was written was x=t. That would get him nowhere.

“Sorry.” Was all that was mumbled as he took back the notebook that was at first handled to Leo to look over. The mistake was erased as he stared at the newly blank spot. “What was it again?” he didn’t process what it was supposed to be after finding out he was wrong for the nth time today. The letter “X” sounded right so he scratched that down with the lead, then the equals sign, and then.... And then…. Then… the letter “T”….

Finally Leo reached his limit. He could only act like everything was alright for so long thinking that was what Takumi wanted when it was obvious not helping him. He should say something and he should of said something a long time ago. “Takumi, is everything alright? You’re making easy mistakes I know you wouldn’t make- and you’re far too distracted.” Immediately Leo gave his reasons as to why he felt the need to ask if he was fine so there was no game of “yes I’m okay” played. 

Takumi didn’t say anything even though he did stiffen in his seat, looking up at Leo with a wide expression and a growing blush. Why did that have to give him away? “I-I just… have things on my mind, y’know?”

He was starting to sound like he did when he was first telling Niles about his growing crush. If he ever pointed that out, he wondered it he would see the similarity too. Beating around the bush was another game he didn’t want to play. It took a moment for Leo to figure out the best way to word how to move on without making it sound like he was forcing him to speak, but he felt the studying session was pointless and more important things needed to be discussed. “You said you wanted to talk- why don’t we do so now?” Leo suggested, closing his own notebook. It wouldn’t be needed anymore.

Even though he was metaphorically trapped in a corner, Takumi still thought over his options on how to get out of this. He thought he was ready to ask certain questions and face certain feelings, but now that the moment was here he didn’t know how to act. He thought more time would help, but that didn’t seem to be an option. He ended up giving in with a sigh and closing his own notebook, getting up off the bed to make his way to the desk. “F-Fine, just… bear with me for a moment.”

Leo simply nodded his head, giving a small vocal compliance along with it as he watched the athlete move about the room. He noticed Takumi was blushing more as he made his way over to the desk to pick up the photo strip of the two of them and suddenly the nervous feelings were infecting him too.

“I told a few friends about our trip,” Takumi started out, making his way back to the bed, this time he was sitting right next to Leo. Their legs were close to touching again, but there wasn’t any contact. Leo wasn’t sure if he wanted it at the moment since he wasn’t sure what it would mean anymore, “and they started pointing things out to me…” and with a simple saying, Leo’s heart sank. 

He should of seen this coming, it was bound to happen eventually. This wasn’t a secret that could just go away or hide forever. Having his crush be known should have been a relieving feeling, but he couldn’t help but be filled with dread. A crush shouldn’t of been formed in the first place, but he couldn’t stop it. “I’m sorry.” Leo quickly sputtered out, saying it faster than he intended. It was still understood if the embarrassed look given to him. “I didn’t mean to, nor did I join this tutoring program to try to, but… I have come… to like you.” Sure the point was expressed right, but he felt like a child wording it like that. Maybe it was the concept that seemed childish. “I’ve formed a crush.” Maybe it was because love sounded more mature, and as his crush developed and grew it sounded more  _ right _ , but he didn’t want to admit to himself that he was in love if these feelings weren’t returned. It would make rejection sting less, he convinced himself. A small noise of realization left Takumi, but that was the end of it. He said nothing else. He wish he would say more. “I understand if you don’t want to have these sessions anymore, I can leave if-”

“Wait!” Immediately with his hand not holding the pictures, Takumi reached out to hold his wrist to keep him in place despite the fact that Leo hadn’t moved at all. He wasn’t planning to until he told him to leave or not. Even though he was held down and prevented from moving, Takumi still kept his hold on his wrist. It was firm, but not constricting. If he had to compare it to anything it could be an over zealous hand holding that was around his wrist. He’d love to hold his hand if he was given the chance. Now wasn’t the time to think over those things. “Don’t leave, I… I sort of figured it out that you liked me anyway.”

“What? When?” Leo thought he was able to keep his feelings in check for the most part minus a few moments at the golf course and the following dinner. He really was too into the moment and the fantasy in his head when they were eating, watching Takumi with an amused, love filled expression as he watched him gush over how good the food was. 

“When I told my friends about it and showed them the pictures they… sort of pointed it out to me… and it all made sense.” He thought about listing it all out, but he was sure Leo knew what that list consisted of already. 

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, it was never my intention.” He wasn’t sure how he was speaking so clearly right now since all he could feel was the bundle of nerves racing through his body. His own blush was a red as Takumi’s and he too could hardly make eye contact. Maybe it was the chance of rejection. “Even with the mini golf- its intentions were a field trip… the dinner though… well…”

“I don’t think I was ever uncomfortable, I just… it’s different.”

“Having a man like you?”

“Having  _ anyone  _ like me like that... “

It took a moment for Leo to wonder which path to trek, the main reason being he didn’t want to lose Takumi as a friend. If Takumi wanted a platonic relationship with him, all he could do was accept that since he did genuinely enjoy spending time together. The feelings would pass never returned and he could move on, but this was a chance- a chance to find out if those feelings would have to stay platonic.

Leo shifted his captured arm, Takumi’s hold loosening enough for Leo to hold his hand instead like he was dreaming about earlier. Finally eye contact was made which was a feat considering that it was the first time Takumi looked at him since getting up from the bed. “Would you be open to it? To me liking you  _ like that  _ and us forming a relationship?”

No response came from Takumi as he broke eye contact to stare down at their still conjoined hands. As usual, Leo loved to watch his vast array of expressions, noticing the merged brows and the spread of red across his nose and cheeks. His amber eyes darted from one knuckle on Leo’s hand to the next as he thought over what his friends told him, what Leo told him, and how Leo could treat him.

“I… don’t know how good of a boyfriend I can be, but… I can try…” Through all his embarrassment, Takumi finally looked up and gave a weak smile to Leo and finally it was the blond’s turn to give Takumi a bright smile instead of his usual small, fond one. 

“Thank you-”

“What are you thanking me for?” Takumi’s smile grew just a bit since he found the thanks silly.

“I honestly don’t know.” Leo answered with laugh. It was a lie, he knew somewhat. He was thankful of this weight off his shoulders being replaced with a new boyfriend in his hands. Even the title made him uncharacteristically giddy.

“So… what now?”

“Well… I do believe our study session is over for now. Why not pack our stuff up and enjoy each other’s company until we’re out of time?”

Takumi agreed to the idea and started to clean up the little mess they made. He wasn’t sure when he accidentally dropped the photo strip, but he picked it up again to put it on the brim of his hat before starting to pick up his study supplies. He figured they would have to cover more the next time to make up what they’re missing, but they would cross that bridge once they got there. With the rest of the things put away or packed up in Leo’s bag they made their way back to sit on Takumi’s bed. This time they were sitting close for their knees to touch. “What do we talk about?” He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to ask.

“We talk about the things we normally do.” Leo provided in the same easy, calm, tone he had when he was teaching him physics. “But for this time, why don’t we discuss what you want out of this relationship. Do you want to take things slow?”

“I… don’t know.” Everyone had their own definition of “slow”

Not helpful, but Leo continued. “Do you want to be public?”

“Uh… sure?” He didn’t care either way. People were more open nowadays and he knew his siblings and parents wouldn't mind being his older sister is married to a woman.

More helpful to Leo, but he wished for a more confident answer. He wasn’t going to ask for that though. “Very well, if people ask if we are together, I’ll answer honestly.” It was what Takumi asked for, but Leo still looked over to see how he was doing and noticed he was ducking his head to hide his flush as if it ever went away in the first place. Leo’s stayed in place too. “How does that sound?”

“I think… nice? It’s too early to tell.”

Leo suddenly stiffened up. “Right, sorry. It’s probably too many questions at once.” There went his two others about how affectionate he was okay with them being and how alright he was with public displays of affection. It was all things they could figure out as they grow develop. There was still one thing on his mind that he had to get out. “If I may, there’s one thing I wish to say.”

“Go ahead.” Even if it was another question he had no idea how to answer right away.

“I don’t want to be an experiment.” Takumi raised a brow at that, not completely understanding. He didn’t ask right away for clarification since Leo was already continuing. “I’m sorry for asking all those questions and making sure you’re alright with being with a man, but I have my reasons. My last boyfriend I formed a crush on and we started dating once he said he liked me too. Long story short turns out I was only an experiment to see if he was bi or not. A five month long experiment, but I digress.” Maybe there was still a bit of lingering bitterness, but who wouldn’t have it after being a toy for so long. “I’m not comparing you to him and I know not to make comparisons in general but,... understand it's not a feeling I want to experience twice.”

As miffed as he wanted to be to be even thought of of doing such a thing, Takumi couldn’t be. There was too much reason in the trepidation that he understood and it was something he would want to get out of the way too if he had such baggage. All he had was not being in a relationship in years. “I’m not going to do that to you, Leo.” With all the lingering embarrassment etched on his face with a flush, he managed to hold the seriousness in his eyes and tone. “If things just… don’t work out, I’ll let you know.”

Even with the thought of things not working out being discussed, Leo didn’t think of them. Instead he faintly smiled and asked. “In person and not a halfhearted text?”

“Am I already being a good boyfriend by hating your ex?”

It wasn’t a direct answer, but it was an answer enough that made Leo laugh again. Leo’s own response came with reaching out and once more holding Takumi’s hand. The hold was willingly returned. 


	10. 9x-7i > 3(3x-7u)

“And the formula for horizontal distance for a projectile at an angle is?”

“X equals ‘V’ with that little ‘x’ times ‘t.’”

“Correct, now we must apply to the problem at hand.”

With instruction given, Takumi started to work writing down what was needed to solve the problem. They were back in the library for the session a few days after the first confession. Not much has changed between them, but Leo didn't expect much to in only two days. They texted a bit more on Wednesday outside of their discussion of where to meet up again and Leo changed Takumi’s contact name to include a little red heart, but that was about it. He wasn't asking for more already, he was content being in a brand new relationship, but he did wonder if Takumi changed his own contact name. Another thing he didn't ask about.

When he came home Tuesday his roommates knew right away something was up. He wasn't planning on hiding it, but he would of liked being given the chance to act a bit more suave and casually mention that he was in a relationship. But no, his calm facade was ruined as soon as he got home and Odin asked him how the session was while putting on shoes. Leo’s bashful smile ended up saying everything. The other blond was much later to his class than Leo would approve of being a teacher in training, but he couldn't be mad of the group hug he had with him a Niles who heard about the news from his bedroom. Odin was loud when hearing great things.

Hinata must of been told too which wasn't surprising being Takumi's roommate. When he got himself settled in his English class the next day waiting for the teacher to begin, Hinata came over and sat right next to him. Normally some quiet girl sat next to him, but she wasn't there yet so the other decided to hold the spot for now. Immediately he was talking a mile a minute how he was he was happy for his friend to get a cool boyfriend, and even though Leo was flattered, he wasn't sure how to respond. He thought he was use to excited personalities living with Odin, but apparently that was not the case. Leo was able to stutter out an embarrassed thank you that hitched upward in the form of a question, but that was about it. The girl that normally sat by him had arrived and was looking confused that someone else was in her unassigned assigned seat. Hinata noticed too and when back to his own usual spot and that was the end of that.

He wondered if Hinata told Takumi about that little interaction- it wouldn't of been surprising. If so he also wondered if Takumi was embarrassed by his friends actions or smiled along saying that that was just how his boyfriend was like.

Boyfriends. It was surreal term that still form a small grin on his face. It was silly, childlike, but also true. Partners would be a title that would fit and sound more mature. Lovers, even, although it would take time to be able to say that out loud. He could understand how scary it could be told ‘I love you’ only a few days into a relationship. It was true on Leo’s end though with how long this crush has been developing, but he knew to wait for Takumi to get on the same level too.

“Okay, I got this as an… what are you thinking about now?” Takumi's reaction to being stared at has changed too. Leo remembered the first time he was caught staring when these sessions start. He looked confused with a raised brow, but now he has his own gentle smile and ducked his head a bit to draw attention away from the dusting of pink on his cheek. Leo wondered if he knew that just made it more obvious.

“I’m sorry; staring must be a bad habit of mine.” And Takumi must be the thing he always wanted to stare at. Who could blame him? “Let's see what you got.” Takumi didn't mind his question wasn't answer since he wasn't looking for one and instead handed his work over to be checked. They had to lot to cover after Tuesday, but he didn't mind the extra workload. Now that he was focused he wasn't making the same simple mistakes he did last time and progress was being made. Now if only that could show with his grade going up.

There's been homework here and there that he has done well on, but those hardly did anything to his overall average. All they really did was get praised from his teacher about how he was proud he got a tutor- which he's had for a while, but he wasn't going to argue. That should be changing soon though.

It was getting to be time for midterms, the buzz was in the air and the stress could be felt, and yet it was still the calm before the storm that was finals. His physics teacher would be kind to offer another study guide that, if last time was anything to go off of, would only have half of the things on the test, but it would be the needed warning that he better pass it or else. If he needed to pass the last test, this one was absolutely detrimental to pass.

When the session came to the end for the day he decided to ask. “What are we going to do about midterms?” The notebook that had all his correct equations was shut as he started to put things away, but there was no need to get up and leave right away. He didn't want to.

It was still different being in relationship for Takumi,  but that might be because of how long it's been. Leo made it easier, his calm attitude and willingness made him feel his wasn't held to any sort of standard (besides, well, not being a manipulative ass) but he knew he needed to make an effort too. To get use to this; he wanted to get use to this. It would make it easier to know if he wanted this. Having Hinata and Oboro talk about all the double date possibilities and how it was great he found someone made him more open to the idea than he probably came across being the nervous mess he was when he was asked out.

Leo gave a hum once his own items were put away, wondering what all they could do. “We’ll have to study as much as we can with what is given.” Like if the professor would cover everything or only from certain chapters, hand out another study guide, things like that. “But I don't want to take time away from your other classes.” He shouldn't forget about them because he was struggling with physics.

“That includes you too.”

“Me?” Leo asked with a confused look. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Wow, nice humble brag, Teach.” Always ready to show off how smart he was. There wasn't any bitterness in the words, but there was a teasing grin.

“I'm not bragging.” Leo said with a shy smile. “I study quite a bit in my free time, my own midterms will be no difference.” If he wasn't working, in classes, or with Takumi he was normally staying on top of his grades. The answer caused Takumi to purse his lips together in thought. That expression was cute too.

“You have way too much free time.”

“Trust me, I have not enough.” Sure there were times he was able to relax, but more often than not he felt he had so much to do and so little time.

“You could spend more time with me.” Takumi found a random book on a bookcase far more interesting; a way to look nonchalant even though his blush had a bit more color.

“Really?” He didn't expect him to make an advance right away and he wasn't sure how to react.

“That's what couples do… right?” He was pretty sure, but just in case he lit his voice tilt upward in question.

“You’re right.” He agreed, already thinking up multiple date ideas. “We might as well take advantage of the time before midterms come around.”

Takumi smiled at the agreement and pulled his bag off the ground to put over his shoulder. “Join me in the range again?” He asked, already getting up and waiting for the agreement. How could he say no to that?

“I suppose I have the time.” He said with his own grin, getting up from his seat with his bag on his back. When he was up he held his hand out to Takumi. He looked down at for a moment, wondering what was asked of him. He said he wasn't against against being public, but they didn't get the chance to talk about PDA. Thankfully he got the idea rather quickly and placed his hand in Leo’s open palm. At the least, he seemed open with simple hand holding. There was a brief worry that any possible intense stares would make him want to pull away, but after a quick look around once they were out of their private spot, it was easy to see that no one really cared.

Good, he didn't want people to care because he wanted to enjoy the warmth that came from Takumi’s hands. His palm felt calloused against his own, but it wasn't surprising given the sport that consumed his life. Leo didn't care if his hands were rough or soft just as long as they were clasped in his own.

“Are you planning on showing me a new trick?” Leo asked to start conversation. He wouldn't mind seeing another.

“I wasn't planning on it, but I could.” It was a chance to show off that he wasn’t going to pass up now that the thought was in his head.

“As long as I'm not in danger, I would love to see.”

“Oh yeah that's another thing. Wanna try firing an arrow again, but with the proper safety this time?” This time there was a bit of hesitation from Leo. Sure the string slap didn’t hurt at first as if the pain didn’t register in his mind yet, but when it finally did it stung like something fierce. The bandages stayed on for a few days afterwards before they started to show their age, but the bruise was a different story. It stayed around a lot longer than he at first imagined. His arm was his normal, ivory flesh tone now, no need to paint that with pain and purples again. Takumi noted the lack of answer. “I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt again; and if you do I’ll kiss it better.”

Hearing that got an answer out of Leo, but at the expense at the both of them being embarrassed at the idea. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to say that if he was just going to bring himself down too, but it must of been an attempt at humor. “Y-You don’t need to do… that.” He sputtered out, the words merging together where it was hard to tell where one ended and the next began. “What you did last time helped perfectly- and besides, I probably won’t get hurt again so-”

“What if I want to?” Takumi was tired of the rambling before it even started. He was still embarrassed at saying something like kissing an injury better out loud, but maybe Leo should consider that he wanted to do something like that.

“I…” He didn’t know what he could say to that. There was no fiber of his being that wanted to say ‘no,’ but there was still a few a few things that to consider: Like how its only been two days. Would that be too fast? Granted it was his arm and probably wouldn’t happen if he didn’t get hurt; and even if he did get a kiss out of it, he didn’t want to get hurt. The first time needed to be the last time. “I… suppose you can do that?” He didn’t know if that was even the right response, but it came out of his mouth already and there was no going back.

The beginning of a relationship was always a learning experience; one where those in it learned to work with each other with the new title. Each interaction was a new learning experience. Takumi learned that Leo wanted to keep him happy and Leo learned that Takumi liked getting his way. If something so simple as agreeing to his ideas could get him to see that dimple once more, Leo would happily go along with that way of life.

He liked listening to Takumi talk, his voice sounded nice to his ears just like his looks was easy on the eyes. As they walked still hand in hand, the athlete went on and on about what could be done so Leo would have a better archery experience. He knew he knew what he was talking about, but Leo had a few lingering what ifs in his mind that he wasn’t going to express aloud. They only time their hands parted was for Takumi to unlock the door to the room they needed. Only being in there once was not enough to get a full feel of the room, so Leo became curious again of the layout of the room and started to look around. As far as he knew, nothing has changed since the first time.

Takumi must of wanted to get the better experience out of the way since he was heading to the wall to grab a training bow instead of his locker. Leo supposed he did have something to prove in his mind, so there was no complaints coming from him. With the training bow in one hand, braces in the other and a stock of rubber tipped arrows on his back, he looked behind him to make sure Leo was following him into the range.

“I’ll need a briefing over how to stand again, I’ve forgotten most of what I was suppose to do.” Leo admitted. Not only that, he would have to double check to make sure he wasn’t standing any wrong way to avoid another injury.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you, but first you need to put on these.” Takumi handed over the braces which Leo took without question. “They’re easy to put on, but make sure they’re tight enough.” He was still going to double check anyway though. After looking them over to get an idea of how to put them on his wrists, Leo started the process of putting them on. He was right in the sense of them being easy to figure out, but he wasn’t sure if he actually needed one on both hands. Oh well, Takumi was the expert here, and even if it was another form of precaution he wasn’t going to question it.

“Are they on right?” Leo asked as he held out his hands. Takumi looked them over and was able to give his approval right away. With that out of the way, he was handed the bow once again. The weight in his hands hardly felt familiar, but at least he remember the right spot to hold and to nock the arrow with the bow parallel to the ground, but that was about it. “Alright so,” the word was dragged out as he looked over at Takumi, “now what?”

With that the instructions started again and it all sounded fairly familiar, but he was still thankful for the instructions. Just like the first time Takumi would occasionally place his hands on him to adjust his position to be more proper. This time around it wasn’t as embarrassing to feel his hands on him, it was natural for a boyfriend to touch him, but he still had to will away the blush that wanted to grow when he once again had to adjust his hips to sit at the proper angle.

“Now this time make sure you don’t move your arm when you release the arrow. If you do you either get hurt or launch the bow.” A smile formed at Takumi’s word of advice, but he didn’t say anything since he was too busy concentrating on the target ahead of him. This time he wanted to see himself see hit the target instead the doubled over view he had the first attempt. “Now control your breathing, focus on the target, don’t move your elbow, and fire whenever you’re ready.”

The first two were easy for him, but he couldn’t help but worry about being able to properly do the third thing on that list. He failed the first time. Thinking about it would not help his concentration though so he pushed the worry away to instead do as he was told. When he thought he was ready, he took a breath and released the pulled back arrow.

This time there was no pain to register in his mind as the arrow flew past from his bow. There was a sharp thunk from where it hit the target at the edge of the circle, but it was still a hit and he was proud of himself. Takumi was too if his reaction was anything to go off of. Once more he almost dropped the bow in his hands, but this time it was for a different reason as the athlete pulled him into a one armed hug with his arm over his shoulders to pull him close.

“You did it! And you didn’t get hurt, yeah?” Takumi asked as he looked over with a bright eyed expression and smile. Having his arm around his shoulder pulled him closer to his level, making it easier to look eye to eye and be lost in his amber gaze.

“No, I’m pretty sure I didn’t.” Unless he was just that slow to register pain because he was so love struck being this close to his boyfriend. He didn’t hear the string slap against the brace so he should be alright.

“I told you archery was easy.” Takumi’s smile mellowed out into a fond grin as he kept his arm around him. Leo wasn’t going to ask him to remove it if he didn’t want to.

“Please, that’s because you make it look easy. It’s beginners luck that I even hit the target.” Leo dismissed. He didn’t do anything special especially in the eyes of a champion like Takumi.

The statement caused a laugh to leave Takumi as he pulled his arm away. “Do you want to try again?” He asked when he was done, walking over to the target to remove the arrow from the outer ring.

As tempting as the thought was, he didn’t push his luck. Not only that, he actually had plans after the session that he was going to do before he was swept away by his smile. “I think I’ll pass. I was planning on catching up with my studies before you wanted me to join you.” He admitted albeit a bit shyly.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you had plans afterwards.” Even though they did have a conversation over the matter, he still didn’t want to pull Leo away from his own classes.

“No, it’s alright,” he was quick to dismiss any worry, “I have some things I need on me to write down my notes, so I could do that here while you practice?” There were chairs off to the side he could sit in and copy his fast written notes from the days classes into the subject assigned composition notebooks in cleaner script.

“Yeah, alright.” Takumi agreed to the idea. It sounded good to him. With that they both walked back into the locker room to put away the training bow and arrow along with the braces. Somehow Leo struggled to get them off, but thankfully his boyfriend was right there to help him out of the constraints. After a small look over, he could confirm he was perfectly fine this time around with no new bruises forming.

Leo stayed in the locker room with him as he grabbed his normal archery gear, holding the door open for the both of them once he gathered it all up. Leo wondered if one day Takumi would suggest trying to fire a yumi, but he wasn’t going to ask. He didn’t want to be responsible for somehow breaking it- he’d feel like the worst person ever.

Once they were back in the range did they part ways; Takumi standing a farther distance from the target than where he settled Leo and said blond heading to one of the chairs. It was an awkward set up only having another chair to act like his desk, but with all the different places they’ve studied together he’s grown to work around unconventional work spaces. After creating a makeshift work area, Leo started to work.

Every now and then he could hear the thunk of the arrow hitting the target, but there was only a few times he looked up to see what Takumi was doing. He was busy concentrating on what he was writing down, making sure everything was neat and legible in comparison to his fast script that came with writing down lecture notes in class. It was his way of studying, and having everything broken up by chapter and color coded in a way only he knew was just the cherry on top.

When the thunks came to a stop they didn’t register in Leo’s mind since he was too busy color coding a list of vocabulary he was given for a certain subject. He had no idea what Takumi was doing until he was suddenly sitting down right next to him- that cause Leo to loose all his concentration.  

“You finished?” Leo asked, looking over at him and forgetting the sentence he was in the middle of writing. He wasn’t sure how long he practiced for, but he was apparently too in his notebook to hear the door to the locker room open and shut since the other was void of any archery equipment.

“Yeah, I’m good for the day.” He could of done more, but at the end of it he had actually grown bored and would take longer glances over at Leo. In the end he decided to just call it quits for the day and join the blond. “You got quite the system going on here.”

“Yes, it helps me organize my thoughts a lot. My writing is a bit unclean from using my lap as a desk, but I think it’s still readable.”

“More readable than my writing when we first started.” A chuckle was shared between them at the self jab.

“You’re penmanship has improved just like your physics, I must admit.” It just wasn’t always the source of his praise. Getting a problem right did take priority over writing it pretty. “I’m glad I didn’t distract you with my archery either.”

“Nonsense, it was sort of like the music I listen to when I study: Mindless background noise.”

“You have a special study playlist?” Takumi asked with a raised brow. All of his favorite songs were shoved in one playlist that he had to shuffle through depending on his mood.

“Yes. Songs with lyrics distract me too much when I’m trying to write things down.” Either because he wanted to write down the lyrics or mouth the words that were playing if he was really into the beat. “So I have a playlist that's filled with instrumental songs, mostly from video games I must admit.”

“You play games?” He was learning so much today, but he supposed it was about time considering this was his boyfriend.

“It’s more Odin’s thing, but there are a few I have my own save file on.” Right now it was only about four different games, but he still had them. “I love fantasy and open worlds I can explore, so I borrow his systems for a bit when he gets a new game that fits that.” He doesn’t mind sharing, he was an adult too believe it or not, just as long as no one tampers with his own saves.

“Can I listen?” There was a strong chance he had the playlist on him and he wanted to hear what Leo liked since he already learned a few new facts today.

“Oh, sure, it’s better with earbuds so let me get them.” Leo placed his notebook out to the open chair on his other side and started to rummage through his bag. He was always well organized so it didn’t take long for him to find them, but there was a small problem. “Would you mind untangling them as I pull up the playlist, please?”

Takumi didn’t mind so he hummed in obedience as he started to work pulling the wires out of the knots. Halfway through he spoke up. “Don’t ruin my ear tubes okay? They’re my favorite tubes.”

That was different, making Leo huff a laugh with a shake of his head as he got the right playlist ready and on shuffle. “I would never.” When the earbuds were untangled, Takumi handed Leo the part that connected to his phone and placed the buds in the respected ears. After adjusting the volume to be level for his boyfriend, he played the first song.

It was never something Takumi would search out on his own, but the tune was nice. It was whimsical with strings and pipes that could easily fit into a fantasy game, even though he didn’t know which one. Video games weren’t an interest of his, but he had to admit this one had some good music. Leo watched for a bit to see if he was enjoying himself, a small smile forming when he hadn't ripped them out yet. He didn’t think he would, but it was nice to see his music taste appreciated. He didn’t mind listening to nothing and pulled his notebook back in his lap to resume where he left off.

He managed to get a few more lines written down before he heard shuffling to the side of him. He wasn’t planning on playing much mind to it since Takumi could get as comfortable as he wished in these plastic chairs, but feeling one of the ear buds being placed in his ears caused him to look around at the other, the bud falling out in process.

“It felt weird being the only one listening.” He was quick to give his reasoning, looking off to the side and finding the abused target more interesting to look at. He did that a lot when he was starting to blush. Cute was a description that fit him too well. How dare Niles always be right. “So… I thought… maybe we could share…? I probably should of asked first- sorry.”

“I don’t mind sharing.” The only thing on his mind was the word was cute. Adorable. Considerate to think of something like that. “It’ll probably sound weird only coming from one earbud.”

“I don’t care.” Still he wasn’t looking at him and the words came rushed out. For someone who said he wanted to kiss his arm earlier today he was sure acting embarrassed over sharing earbuds. Another thing learned by Leo: Takumi was all talk while actions were complicated. He could definitely work with that.

Leo picked up the dangling earbud, putting it in his own ear more securely in his ear. A new song was playing making Leo wonder how long he was planning do something like that. Just like he imagined it sounded weird and a little jarring pouring into one ear, but he didn’t care at all since Takumi also scooted closer to him so the cords wouldn’t be as taunt between them. Leo was almost able to start studying again until he felt Takumi’s hand on top of the one holding his phone still. Once again Leo had to look over to see his reaction. His blush was still there and we was still staring at some far off object as he was moving a strand of rose dust hair behind his ear, but amber eyes glanced over too once he felt eyes on him. When eye contact was met, Takumi offered a timid smile. Leo was able to return it with one of his own.

Takumi’s fingers flitted across Leo’s knuckles to grab his attention. Once Leo looked down to see what he wanted, he flipped his hand to show his phone. Takumi took the phone from his hold, placing it down on his own thigh so they could properly intertwine their fingers. Studying became much harder with one hand down, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t pass up this moment for anything. 

~!~

The reality of midterms coming closer hit when his physics professor started to talk about it. They still had a few more classes to go until the dreaded day, but that didn't make it any easier. Once again the teacher was going through the study guide he was handing out. There was more time between now and the actual midterm, but Takumi felt the worry creep up his back.

He has been doing better now in his class and he still had Leo to help him, but he failed the last big test. He couldn't do that again. This time he decided to wait until class was over to text his boyfriend since some information was being covered now. He needed to get as much help as he could get and that included from his actual teacher.

When the class ended and the new information about the midterm was both in his notebook and new study guide packet did he text Leo. He's changed his name in his phone recently and removed the reminder that he was a tutor since he was more than that now, but it took a moment to actually find it. He wasn't in the “L”’a anymore.

It's been about a week since the second visit to the archery range so there's been time to talk between his roommate and his girlfriend. They got to asking him if he already changed Leo’s contact to something cute and romantic and were absolutely appalled when he said he hasn't. He didn't mind dropping the name “Tutor” but he thought that should be it. But it didn't end as Oboro and Hinata suggested doing things like hearts and nicknames and then he was suddenly horribly embarrassed that he was something simple like just “Leo.”

_Me: I got my physics study guide, what would be a good day for you for us to go over it?_

 He pressed send and waiting for a response. He wasn't sure if one would come right away, but it gave him time to walk looking forward to his next destination without having his nose in his phone. Even though he was still walking, as soon as he felt a buzz in his pocket he pulled out his phone.

_Babe <3: Alright. We can start covering it tomorrow. How much time do you have until the test? We can meet outside of our sessions again too if you want. _

Babe. It was the first thing that came to mind when they starting throwing pet names at him and he wasn't sure why. He felt his heart flutter when he saw the name pop up once again, but he was sure that was mostly from embarrassment.

He send another message telling the time frame they had and what days he could also meet up. A reply came faster this time with Leo stating which days worked for him too. They didn't have much, but it was something to go off of and they needed to take advantage of.

There was the usual seasons, a Wednesday and a Sunday. Defiantly did not sound like enough time, but they had to make it enough. They would have to have to stay for longer studying which neither of them minded, but Takumi still wished they could do more than just study. He didn't lose determination just yet, they could spend time outside of studying once midterms were over.

The conversation didn't in there, Takumi was still left texting in his next class as the formed their plans. He wasn't sure if Leo was picking up his wish to not always have to study over the texts, but he suggested the Wednesday meetup be at his own apartment.

Takumi was left blushing in his class as he waited for it to start and he had to take a moment to respond. He's never been over there, obviously, but he couldn't help his reaction. There was still one small worry though.

_Me: what about your roommates?_

He only knew about Niles (this Odin fellow he knew next to nothing about) but he still couldn't stand the man. He's gotten better ever since he told Leo to tell him to knock it off, but there was still a few random moments before they were together that the white haired man would push his luck. If Niles knew how to act like a normal human being around him, maybe he could become friends with him, but now that wasn't happening.

_Babe <3: They'll both be gone before you arrive. You don't need to worry, it'll be just us. _

Takumi felt he meant that in an innocent way, but it really didn't help his blush at all. He ended up having to lay his head down on the desk and the student next to him asked if he was alright.

Of course he was alright, he was visiting his boyfriend’s apartment where it would just them. He ended up not saying that when he alleviated the kind stranger’s worries, but it was still on his mind.

Wednesday couldn't come quick enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who's followed this story so far <3  
> Heads up the next chapter will be the last chapter, BUT there's gonna be an epilogue that's a separate story that's going to be rated E because you know why. I thought I was going to include it in this story, but I decided halfway through I wanted to keep it rated T so itll be on its own.


	11. y=x⁽²/³⁾±√(1-x²)

_Babe <3: Wait outside the library, I'll come pick you up. _

Takumi stared at the message again, mostly looking at the name instead of the content since he was already there. Something needed to… change, but first he sent confirmation that he was in place and that he would see him soon. As nice as the nickname sounded, it wasn't them- it didn't feel personalized. He thought about it all day today as he waited for this moment to come before it finally hit him. The archer adjusted his position where he stood as he tapped around on his phone, easily going into Leo’s contact to change the name to something more fitting in his eyes. He stared down at the new pet name, wondering how it would sound like if he said it aloud. They'll find that out once they reached that point. Finally, he tapped save and read the message again.

_Huckleberry <3: Wait outside the library, I'll come pick you up. _

After their usual Tuesday session, this Wednesday visit was the only thing on Takumi’s mind. He wondered if they were going to have another date disguised as a study session like they did with the golf trip and that made him think about that memory some more. He knew doing so would lead him to getting ahead of himself, but there was always that what if.

To be honest he wasn't sure if he even wanted this to be like a golf date. Yes it would be fun and he would get to spend time with Leo, but he really needed to pass this test. All hope was lost if he didn't and he'd be classified a dumb ass forever.

Alright, maybe not that far -he still was doing good in his other classes- but the point still stood.

With a moment to think about it he decided that no, he wanted this to be a study session more than anything. Maybe they could do something afterwards, but for now he was ready to learn about how fun physics were. Suffering was fun.

To be honest, he wouldn't really say he was suffering anymore. Sure there were still a few concepts he struggled with, but there was way more than he understood and was able to apply without many if any mistakes. It makes him feel happy to see visible improvement, but that might also be because he was getting praise from Leo.

Footsteps approaching caused him to look up from his phone to see the blond himself and he couldn't help but give a small smile. “It's about time you showed up.” Takumi couldn't help but tease.

“I didn't leave you waiting for long, did I?” Leo still asked with concern even if Takumi felt his play was obvious. The worry was a cute little touch, he had to say. Even as he spoke his worries he reached out to take the athletes hand.

He's learned quickly that Leo was far more affectionate than he originally thought he would come off as, but it was a trait he was glad to learn. Any time he was given a chance the blond would reach out and hold his hand. He seemed to like his palm the way he once caught him playing with his fingers during the end of the last study session. It was nice, like a gentle hand massage the way he would press a fingertip against one of his own and deftly move it down to see where all the callouses were. If a simple thing like that him happy, Takumi was oblige with little complaint. “Nah, not really.” He replied to focus on the now.

The small worried expression quickly faded away into a small grin on Leo’s face. “I’m glad. Ready to go?” The hold he currently had was light and just on two of the archer’s fingers, but he adjusted it to intertwine their fingers together once Takumi nodded his head in confirmation.

The walk out of the library was uneventful. Sure Takumi was a little embarrassed still holding hands in public, but already he’s grown to not let it bother him so much. No one else cared, so why should he? Talk remained mostly on the study guide as they made their way out of the campus building and into the parking lot. There was a lot to cover and hopefully most of it remained on the test unlike last time. In the worst of times luck was never on Takumi’s side though.

The car ride over to the Leo’s apartment was much of the same with light talk of mundane subjects back and forth between them although there was one jab at Leo if he needed directions. The fluster that covered his cheeks was more than worth it and left Takumi laughing harder than he thought he originally would; he barely heard the small mumble from his boyfriend how he wasn’t that directionally challenged. Conversation did end the closer they got though since the athlete was too busy looking around the continue talk. This part of town was new to him, but that was mostly because he didn’t have the need to go over to these high class apartments. They looked a lot nicer than he was expecting and it made him wonder if there was some bits of his boyfriend’s life he should be asking about.

But the fancy apartments came and went and Leo was pulling into the lot of apartments that looked more aged. They didn’t look run down and he still knew that they would be far better than his dorm room would be, but they looked like they have been lived in and loved for many years. They may of been the old expensive apartments before the new ones were built, but that was just speculation.

Takumi adjusted his expression to a more neutral one once he noticed the small frown on Leo’s face. “What’s wrong?”

A sigh left the other as he unbuckled himself after cutting off the engine. “Odin’s car is still here which means either his class is canceled or he’s running late again.”

“Oh.” Takumi followed suit by unbuckling himself. “What if it's the former?”

“He won’t bother us if it is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if its not. He’s always running late.” He finished his sentence before getting out of the car, making his way over to the passenger side to help Takumi out. He was able to open the door for him and let him in when they were still on campus and it made him oddly happy. Takumi must have noticed the goofy smile he has for being able to do something small like that and continued to indulge him by letting him open the door for him again. With his boyfriend out and right next to him, Leo spoke again. “I've lectured him many times on the importance of being on time, but I swear he never listens.”

The passenger door was closed and the backseat one was opened for Leo to grab their bags. “I never got to experience a lecture from you; this should be interesting.” Takumi jested.

“Because I don't want to lecture you.” Leo was planning on carrying both of their bags, but Takumi was already taking his own before he could be situated with both of them. That was fine with him he supposed. The door was shut and the car was locked before he started to lead the way to his apartment. “I would tell you something and you would do it to the best of your ability- Odin on the other hand I tell him not to be late and he's even later the next day.” Honestly it was starting to feel like he was doing it out of spite.

“How kind of you.” He didn’t mind being left out of a scolding.

“I may be a little bias too.”

A laugh was shared between them as they made it up the stairs, Leo reaching into his pocket again to pull out his keys. Takumi shifted his bag over his shoulder, wondering just how the apartment would look inside. Was Leo this nervous when he first invited him over? Maybe, but then again they were just friends back then. The door was opened, showing a frazzled Odin putting on his shoes while sitting on the ground. He was probably trying to quickly leave before he was caught, but he ended up not being successful.

“I'm going!” Odin shouted before anything could be said, tossing his head to look at his roommate since he had his back to the door only to see he wasn’t alone. “Oh!” The other blond got up from the floor, only one shoe on yet completely not bothered by the fact since he still stood taller than the other two. His own roommate was quickly ignored as he looked at the other male standing slightly behind Leo. “Hey, I'm Odin! You must be Takumi, yeah? I've heard so much about you, it's nice to finally meet you buddy.” The energetic blond held out his hand which Takumi took after a moment, shaking it with both of his hands once he had a hold on the archer’s. After a quick shake he let his hand go and went back to putting on his other shoe. “Oh yeah! I'm going out with some other friends and Niles is doing Niles things, so you'll have some peace and quiet tonight.”

“That's fine.” Leo hummed, stepping in the doorway when there was space while waving Takumi inside as well. He stepped in without a problem, but what he could do next had him over thinking. No one seemed to notice his little internal struggle as Leo continued talking to Odin. “Don't forget you have a class at noon tomorrow though.”

"It's almost midterms I think I know my schedule by now.” Odin waved off with a laugh. It wasn't that big of a deal to him.

“Care to explain to me why you're still always late then?”

Odin puffed his cheeks in a comical pout. “You don’t nag Niles about being late!” He pointed out in a weak attempt of argument.

“Because I don’t have to worry about Niles,” or at least not in that regard, “now stop stalling and making yourself later than you already are.” That finally pushed Odin out the door was a huff that turned into a bright smile as he said goodbye to the couple one more time. The door was shut leaving the two of them indoors. “You can put your shoes off to the side.” The blond has his own pressed against the wall in the doorway so Takumi decided it was best to put his right next to him.

There was a lot to unpack when he was watching the little back and forth between the two roommates that he wasn't sure what he should focus on first. There was the part where it would be only Leo here, and him too, but he didn't to deep into that to get flustered. He wasn't spending the night, he didn't bring anything to prepare for it and he had his own classes in the morning. He wouldn't be running into Niles which was great since things were still rocky between them. There was Odin himself who's energy levels was like Hinata’s times ten, but there was one thing that he would like some clarification on.

“So…,” the word was dragged out as he started to follow Leo into the apartment, looking around at its layout and decor before realizing they were heading to a dining area, “What all do you tell your friends about me?”

Leo was successful in keeping his expression neutral as he set his stuff down in one of the seats at the kitchen table, gesturing for him to do the same and make himself at home. “Oh you know,” he started out, knowing for a fact he would not say how a majority of his talk about Takumi with his roommates were about his struggles dealing with a one sided crush. It was too embarrassing so he needed some sort of cover. Thankful he had one in mind since it was still the truth, “just how amazing my boyfriend is.” Once he was in a relationship and able to say it, there were many times Niles and even Odin got him to unintentionally gush how cute he found the archer. Having feelings being returned after so long did that to people.

Takumi looked at Leo’s back with a blank face from where he was sitting before looking away, covering half of his blush with a hand as he mumbled something too muffled and quiet for Leo to hear from where he was standing. That was alright with him- he had a basic guess of what he said.

“Do you want something to drink?” There was no need to falter at being a host so he had to make sure his guest was comfortable- especially consider that guest was his boyfriend. He wanted him to have a good experience so he would want to come over again.

“Just some water is fine with me.” He dropped his hand but the flush was still there.

Two cups of water were brought over to the table, one set in the front of the archer with the other being close to Leo’s own spot when he sat down as well. “Shall we get started?”

With that the study guide was pulled out again and they started to work through it. Most things sounded familiar to Takumi and he was able to work through the problems fairly easily, but there were still a few moments where Leo’s help was absolutely needed. He didn't mind though, the blond was always more than willing to help him through a problem. If only he could be there during the test too; that would make things even easier. There wasn't a time to focus on such pointless things though.

Instead Takumi focused on the questions at hand, making sure he understood everything and anything before even thinking of moving on. He couldn't make any sort of mistake just in case he came across a question he knew would get wrong. There was no need to throw away precious points he knew he could get if he just thought a little harder. Every problem he worked through correctly would be praised with a small “Good” before moving on and honestly it was motivating him more than he ever thought it would.

The glasses of water refilled themselves as the ice melted over time, occasionally being sipped from but overall ignored in favor of work. Neither were really aware of the time passing by until Takumi started to get hungry. After finishing another problem he spoke up. “Hey, is there anything to snack on?” He might as well ask now before his stomach interrupted the mood instead.

Leo looked up from the question he was checking, looking at his phone instead of answering. He wasn't too aware of his much time has passed, and while it wasn't as extreme as the first time Takumi brought his tutor over for a session, a large amount of time still passed. “How about we have dinner instead?” It was around that time anyway; besides it would fill one of those domestic daydreams Leo had occasionally while he was still pinning. “I'm quiet the good cook, if I say so myself.”

“You don't have to do that.” Takumi straightened in his seat slightly embarrassed. He didn't expect a meal to be cooked for him, just for him to study and maybe hang out for a bit. Maybe this was included in hanging out- he didn’t really know.

“Please, see it as me tending to my guest.” Leo continued, still having an easy grin on his face. “Besides, we've been working hard. A break is in order I believe; why not do so over some food?” He still looked unconvinced, shifting in his spot and looking away making Leo decided to try another approach. “Do you want to help me cook?”

Once again Takumi looked over, amber eyes meeting Leo's, wondering if he should be excited over it or worried. “I'm not really a chef.” He didn't really have the means to in a dorm. Most of the time he just went to the cafeteria to eat something there or going out and when he still lived at home he made very simple things like pizza rolls. “I don’t want to burn your place down.”

“I’ll be right next to you in case anything happens.” But to be honest he didn’t think there would be that extreme of a problem. “Come on let’s clean off the table and think over what we want.” At the least that got Takumi to move by starting to put up his items. The archer didn’t think over what he wanted to eat mostly because he didn’t know what was available, but he was starting to think that it would be pretty fun cooking together. “You can keep your things in the chair.” There was the extra one so they could actually sit and eat and Leo could place his own things in his room which he was going to do. When he came back with hands empty he met him in the kitchen again. “Do you know what you want?”

“Uh…” He didn’t think over any sort of meal since he didn’t know what Leo had to make. He could of rummaged around the kitchen, but it felt like an invasion of privacy to him. “Anything is fine really.”

A hum left Leo as he thought it over, slowly coming up with an idea as he started looking through the fridge and freezer. Finally finding something the idea in his mind was fully formed and he spoke up. “How about some chicken parm?”

It was better than the nothing he came up with. “Yeah, sounds good. What should I do?”

With that the cooking started with the first step being the both of them needing to wash their hands. Being sanitary was important after all. The chicken was brought out to start the defrost process as Leo grabbed the rest of what they needed for the batter and the parm part of the meal. Leo did most of the talking, explaining to Takumi what he should do to help out which started with preheating the oven. It took a bit of coaxing to reassure Takumi that it really was ok to beat the chicken with a mallet in order to tenderize it (that concept itself was just as confusing as physics) but he went to work as Leo prepared the breading that was going to cover the pieces of meat.  

After the breading bowl was ready for the chicken and his hands were washed of crumbs he made his way over to Takumi. He’s told him the chicken was tendered enough a few moments ago and was poking at the meat with the hammer as he waited for further instruction. He wasn’t given anything just yet since Leo was busy bringing over the bowl with the breading and a bowl with eggs in the other hand to the counter his boyfriend was at. When those were placed the blond spoke. “Can you beat those eggs for me please?”

“Yeah, sure.” A fork was soon handed to him and he got to work making sure the eggs were nothing but a yellow liquid. Now he felt the need for conversation. “Do you cook for your roomates often?” It was a good place to start giving what they were doing.

“We’re supposed to rotate responsibility, but it does seem like I’m left with the job the most.” It was said with a fond smile and made it hard to tell if he was actually bothered by it.

“Must be nice.” Having a good home cooked meal and such. Sure the cafeteria food was much better than what it was like in high school, but frozen food slapped in the fryer just wasn’t the same as this.

“Are you jealous?” Leo asked with a look over, fond smile still lingering as another bowl was brought to make a line of three; this one holding flour.

“Let me see how this tastes and then I’ll decide if I’m jealous or not.”

A warm chuckle left Leo. “If it tastes bad I’m blaming you.”

“Hey-” He nudged Leo in the side with his elbow, small pout on his features, “you’re the one who told me to help out.”

Leo willingly moved with the nudge, small smile growing into something more content. “I’ll know better for next time if that’s the case.”

No response came from Takumi after that since he was now too focused on the eggs that have been beaten enough for a bit now in order to hide his blush. He didn’t ask if he was really allowed to come over again, that was obvious, but the thought of it ended up making him a little embarrassed. There was still some relationship aspects he was growing use to and that was one of them. The reaction was still too cute for the blond and he just had to wrap an arm around his side for a one arm hug.

The thought to kiss his head came, but it passed with the urge being suppressed. Maybe next time.

Takumi did lean into the hug as he slowed the rotations of the fork, still flustered, but starting to recover. His blush would of left sooner if Leo left, but instead he moved closer to whisper in his ear. “You can stop with the eggs now.” It wasn’t romantic at all, but the breath against the shell of his ear was a completely new experience. The hug ended as Takumi moved to put the fork in the sink, but Leo’s smile remained.

The blond instructed him on the next step which was to dip the chicken into the flour, then the eggs, and finally the bread crumbs while making sure it was evenly covered. It was an easy task that they both knew Takumi could easily do so Leo was okay with turning his back to him to grab a pan to start the actual cooking process. The pan was covered in oil and tilted about to make sure it was spreading about evenly.

Now recovered, Takumi spoke up once more. “What’s in this breadcrumb mix? It smells pretty good.” If he didn’t already taint it with raw chicken, he might of pinched his fingers in to sample a little.

“Most of it came pre-made in a bag.” Leo stepped away from the stove for a moment to grab said bag of crumbs, giving it a shake for the athlete to see before putting it up. “But I added salt and pepper and some Parmesan.” He then moved to grab a plate to cover it with a paper towel to set it next to his pan while a piece of Tupperware was sat down for Takum to place the food in. “Are you absolutely starving now?”

“Honestly I’m getting there.” He couldn’t help it, smells did that.

Since the meal would take time to cook and he couldn’t have his beloved starving, he thought up a plan. “We can snack on some chips as we wait.” Just as long as it didn’t spoil their appetite. There was no need to waste all this hard work.

Takumi agreed to the idea as he finished off with the last of the chicken breast, handing the filled container over to Leo with his own clean hand. The sound of the sink turning on was muffled over the sizzle of oil when the first piece of meat was gently laid into the pan. If the bread crumbs smelled good beforehand, the smell of cooking food was even better. Two strips of meat were placed in the pan at a time, cooked evenly on both side for a few minutes only to go into the towel covered plate to rest until the next part was taken care of. The archer was instructed to look around the pantry both for the marinara sauce and something to snack on. The sauce was easy to find, but it took a moment for him to find what he was alright with munching on. He figured he was allowed to have anything, but there was always that odd worry that he would take something he shouldn’t. In the end he decided to take a small bag of salty chips.

The sauce was set right besides the plate now filled with all the partially cooked chicken breasts. The pan was placed on a cool burner as Leo moved to grab a casserole dish that was needed. In went the chicken, the marinara and the cheeses needed. The dish went into the oven and the correct time was put in for it to cook. Now they had twenty five minutes to sit around and wait.

“What did you grab?” Leo turned to face his boyfriend once all there was left to do was let it cook.

Takumi already opened the small bag and started snacking on the chips so if it wasn’t alright to grab it was too late. “Just this. It’s pretty good.” Then again it was hard to go wrong with such a simple snack.

Leo gave a hum and a small nod of his head. “Can I have one?”

“Sure.” He tilted the bag towards the blond to pick from, thinking it was just going to be an innocent request, but he was learning more and more what it was like to be in a relationship with Leo every day. Instead of taking a chip or two Leo took the whole bag, a small smirk on his features as he started to walk away while popping one of the snacks into his mouth. “Hey-” He huffed in fake annoyance, ignoring Leo’s small compliment how he picked something good to munch on as he followed him to wherever he was heading. “I thought that was for me?” He was the one starving over here.

Where Leo wanted to lead them was to the couch to sit down, but he didn’t eat anymore and just held onto the snack. “It is.” Leo agreed, now holding the bag back out to him. “But I think it would be much more comfortable to sit here and eat instead of standing in the kitchen.

He couldn’t be mad at such a silly request so he rolled his eyes with a smile, sitting down right next to him with the bag back in his hands. “You didn’t have to act all cunning like you tricked me to sit here.” Although that smirk was quite the look on him. The prince like comparison never left Takumi’s mind even after all this time and the smug look fit that picture just as well. A kind ruler that could snap his fingers and it would be enough for his kingdom to bend as his will, whatever it may be.

“I know, but you’re cute pout was very much worth it.” The small smirk was still lingering as he looked over.

Even with the compliments being tossed his way doubling after the start of the relationship, hearing them still always caused him to lightly blush.”Shut up about that already.” It wasn’t the first time he’s heard he has a cute pout, blush, smile- everything, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to get him a hush though, but it did mean occupying his mouth. Thankfully he knew the perfect way to do so.

A chip was pulled from the bag and he pushed it towards his mouth, Leo taken aback a bit from the action before he leaned forward again and parted his lips. Once he had a hold of the chip Takumi dropped his hand, pout still present as he found more interest in the bag. Now Leo had a light dusting of pink across his own cheeks too. The chip was eaten and the bag emptied as Takumi finished his snack. Nothing was said as he got up to discard it, but neither were aware they were thinking the same thing of what if a different method was used to hush the blond up.

Takumi didn’t stay away for long as he soon composed himself and made his way to the couch again. There was no need to make Leo worried staying away for so long, making him find his way back in his spot. He shifted to get comfortable, glancing over to watch the blond wipe a piece of crumb off his bottom lip with his thumb. Seeing no need to leave them in an awkward silence thinking over odd thoughts, Takumi spoke up. “It’s smells really nice in there.” He couldn’t believe he had to wait about twenty more minutes to actually eat.

Leo seemed ready to start up conversation again too. “It should taste good too; you did help after all.”

“Please,” he rolled his eyes, “you did most of it.”

“That means nothing,” the dismissal was waved off in tone before he started to tease, “you’ve could’ve beaten the eggs wrong and ruined everything. They did look over beaten now that I think about it.”

“Wow, there goes my confidence. Ouch, Leo.” It was the closest thing to an insult he’s heard from him too.

Even though the hurt in Takumi’s voice was feigned, Leo still reached out to put his arm over his shoulders in a form of comfort. “I’m only joking dearest.” There wasn’t much distance between them to begin with, but with a small pull closer the archer was leaning more into his side. The affection didn’t stop as Leo nuzzled his face against the side of his head. “You could never do something like that.”

“You don’t have to put me on some sort of pedestal.” He murmured his embarrassment, head ducking slightly. He wasn’t perfect by any means to be seen as impossible of flaw- that’s the whole reason why he was here: His piss poor physics knowledge got him a boyfriend.

“Sorry,” Leo returned lightly, but he seemed far more interested in cuddling now instead of being apologetic. When Takumi moved his head lower it did not deter him from stop his snuggling since now his nose was against a spot higher up on his crown.

They stayed in that position for a moment, nothing being said any longer. Leo thought something would come in response to his little sorry, but when there was only silence he closed his eyes to enjoy the moment of closeness. Takumi was an open book; the way his shoulders shifted ever so slightly under his arm told the blond that the archer was deep in thought. Whatever it could possibly be, he didn’t see the need to ruin his concentration. After a moment Takumi started to move around some more, turning his body to get his arms in position to wrap loosely around Leo’s waist. He scooted closer, making Leo need to move his head away which ended up giving his boyfriend room to take his turn in nuzzling his face against him, only this time it was against the blond’s neck in order to hide his flush. Boyfriends cuddle, this was natural, but it was still all new. Takumi knew that he was okay with affection, but it was the first time he initiated something so big as this.

The flush was contagious and soon Leo had a dusting of light pink of his own. He wasn’t sure what to say at this display, but he did readjust his arm over his shoulder to accommodate this new, closer position. The silence lasted longer this time around, the only noise going on being the television Odin forgot to turn off when he was getting ready to leave, but either were hardly aware of what was showing.

The television hushed itself with a commercial playing nothing but rainfall to advertise whatever product, a lull in which Takumi found his voice to speak. “How… long can I stay?”

“As long as you wish.” The response came natural in a low murmur, not finding the need to speak any louder with him this close. He moved his arm at the elbow, taking the chance to indulge a lingering fantasy by starting out resting the hand a top rose dust colored hair. His fingers trailed down, deftly flitting over the ribbon keeping the locks together in a low ponytail to gently pinch the shorter wayward strands between two fingers towards the end of it. The process started to repeat itself in a gentle cycle. It wasn’t the full playing with his hair fantasy he had, but it was close to make him long for it more as reality came back to him. “Or as long as you can rather.”

There was a question in the statement, asking how long he was able to stay before he had to drive him back to the dorms, but all he got was an “Okay.” in acknowledgement. “So… I can stay after dinner?” He didn’t want to stay longer than welcomed.

“Of course.” It wasn’t even a question although he did wonder how long he could reside her, but he wasn’t going to repeat the question more clearly.

“I’d like to stay longer.” Now it was Takumi’s turn to join him in the lower volume, adjusting to just hold his head on his shoulder without hiding his face. As tempting as it was to look eye to eye, Leo didn’t want to move at all.

Now Leo had to make plans. He wasn’t sure how long Takumi was able to stay over after studying so he didn’t have much, but he winged the dinner idea so no doubt he could do the same for afterwards too. “Care for a movie night then?” The collection between him and his two roommates was the main attraction of their apartment after all.

It didn’t take long for him to think it over. “Sure why not. What do you got?”

“Everything, honestly.” Sure there was more of some genre than others, but he was certain they had that Takumi could possibly ask for. “What kind do you like?”

“Animated… comedy… things like that, you know.” It was embarrassing to admit, but he enjoyed kids movies. They were always a “turn your brain off and enjoy yourself” levels of stupid fun. He didn’t watch movies often, but when he did and in genres he liked, it was at times he definitely needed the distraction. Now wasn’t the time to remember teenage angst though, he was past that.

“We have some of those. Want to get up and look for something?’

“No.”

The answer came immediately that Leo couldn’t help but chuckle warmly. “Then how about after dinner?” They would need to get up and out of this position to eat, so it was an opportune time.

“That sounds better.”

And Leo wondered how he doesn’t realize how cute he can be sometimes.

They stayed in that position, talk staying on mindless things as they waited for their dinner to cook. The only time there was a break in talk was when Leo’s phone went off with an unusual chime. It was easy to tell it was from a game and the apology for leaving his phone on volume was brushed off as curiosity took over. He knew Leo was interested in games, but he wasn’t sure how the fantasy, open world, explorer type of game could possibly be put on a phone. It lead to the archer asking about it and soon he as watching Leo move little cutely styled units around on a battlefield trying to defeat enemies. The blond explained what he was doing in response to the questions he had. It didn’t take long for Leo to offer the phone up to him to play which the archer took after a moment of thought. Leo wasn’t too worried about him ruining anything, he was right next to him watching and he would say something if he tapped in the wrong spot.

“So,” the word was dragged out in thought, “is this a balanced team?” Takumi asked, having lifted his head off his shoulder to look at him for guidance. There was empty team slots that Leo decided to let him have fun and give a proper experience by building a little army.

“I have Veronica on my main team too.” Leo hummed in confirmation. He knew what he was doing on that part, but his mild interest turned into a small frown once he saw the other three members.

“What?”

“You really don’t want other people to have fun against you, don’t you?”

"What do you mean?” He thought he was doing something right, but now he was pretty confused.

“Really Takumi?” The frown still faded into a small smile. “Brave Lyn, Tombhardt, and Surtr? People are going to hate you just for using them.”

The confused look turned into a smug smirk and Takumi was now more confident in his picks. “I want to win.”

“I might have to save this team for myself.”

“Don’t steal my idea!”

The new team was put to test as Leo let him have his fun going against A.I. and even trying out the arena. Sure not every fight was a clean victory, but Takumi was having fun and that was all that really mattered.

The fun ended with the oven timer went off signaling that their dinner was ready. They got out of their position, Takumi handing the phone back to its owner after finishing the last battle. The device was pocketed as they both headed towards the kitchen where Leo placed some trivets down on the table before putting on oven mitts to grab the casserole dish. The other offered to set the table which Leo nodded to and told him where plates and silverware were. He made sure not to get in the blond’s way as he set the table with plates set in front of the spots they sat in when they were studying. The dish was placed on top of the trivets, Takumi eyeing the food for a moment as Leo turned around to grab a utensil to pull the chicken out. He made his way back to the table, Takumi in his spot waiting to be served when he noticed the start of a frown on his boyfriend’s face.

"Everything okay?”

“I wonder if this is enough… maybe I can make some pasta or some bread to go-”

“Leo stop fretting the little things.” Before the blond turned to do one of the two things -possibly both- to add to the meal, Takumi grabbed his his wrist to keep him in place. “This is enough, honestly I really appreciate you doing all this for me.” Sure it might not take that much time, but he was being honest saying that the chicken was enough.

Leo seemed to think it over for a moment before nodding his head. “Alright, if you insist. I'll just have to make sure to make up for it next time.” With that settled with no room for argument, he went about getting the chicken out of the dish to put on their plates.

Takumi simply rolled his eyes with a little smile. He really didn't need to do that, but he sounded so determined he didn't find the need to argue. Besides, being pampered in the form of an over the top home cooked meal sounded very nice.

The blond finally sat down when their plates were filled with food and it was finally time to eat. Takumi wasn't aware of if, but Leo stalled in taking his first bite by lazily taking his knife and fork in hand. He took his time cutting the first piece, glancing up to catch the archer’s reaction when he took his own bite. Leo needed to know the food was good- he wasn't sure what he would do if it wasn't besides making a whole new meal from scratch. Immediately a hum came from Takumi when he ate the bite, speaking up once his mouth was clear.

“This is so good.” He complimented, already going back to eating more. He really was starving.

“I'm glad.” The small grin he had was unseen, but that was okay since now Leo could eat too.

Not much conversation was shared between them. There was some talk, but mostly it was them eating. When the both finish Takumi was quick to offer his help in clean up which Leo was adamant at first -he was a guest- but even though he told him to go find a movie for them to watch many times he still grabbed the plates and followed him to the sink leaving Leo to finally give up. Leo still did the dishes though in the sense of a rinse before putting them in the dishwasher while Takumi cleaned off the table and even the counters of crumbs. With two people helping the clean up didn't take long at all.

“You really didn't have to help, but still thank you.” Leo expresses his gratitude once finished, talking a hold of both of his hands in his own.

“I didn't want to sit and watch you do all the work.” It didn't feel right, but that might just be his need to do something.

A hum left Leo as he let go of one hand so they could properly walk together to his movie collection. “I don't mind doing it by myself.”

“There's nothing wrong with letting me help either.” Takumi countered, allowing himself to be lead.

“I know, but I want to take care of you.” And to him, that included taking on all the cleaning responsibilities himself.

“You're too much.” He really wasn't sure how to handle his affection sometimes, even if it did come in odd forms. Once in front of the selection he was honestly surprised by all its contents, but he supposed it was the result of three movie lovers living together. He honestly wasn't sure what he was in the mood for before he came across a certain film. “Woah, I haven't seen this in forever.” The movie was pulled out of its spot, the cover facing the both of them showing a plump orange cat with a smug smile. “It use to be my favorite.” Just his level of stupid fun.

“Want to watch it?” Leo was fine with just about anything he picked.

“I wouldn't mind. I wanna see if it holds up to my memory.” Sometimes nostalgia clouded opinion. “Is that's okay with you?”

“Of course.” He held his free hand out, the movie case being placed in his palm and he got up to start the film. That involved letting their hands go, but that was alright for now. Takumi got comfortable on the couch, waiting for him to get it all set up so he could join him, but of course it was never that easy. “Do you need anything while I'm up?” Popcorn, a drink, he's willing to provide.

"I'm okay,” he said with a shake of his head, one hand reaching out to pat the spot next to him, “come join me already.” Cuddling as they were was much nicer than he ever thought and now was the perfect scenario for some more.

A smile crossed Leo’s features, finding the gesture cute and doing as he asked. He grabbed the remote resting on the coffee table before leaning back on the couch to finally relax. It didn't take long for their hands to find one another again as they sat close. Arm to arm they were pressed with their knees touching and Takumi once again laid his head on his shoulder and Leo almost forgot to even start the movie since he was too busy thinking how cute he was.

Honestly the movie was one he hardly remembered. It was probably some obscure film that Odin had spotted around in his collection, but this movie wasn't for him. Leo stayed in his spot, being a pillow for his boyfriend as he reacted to the movie by smiling at the right movements and occasionally chuckling. They stayed in that position for a good portion of the beginning before Takumi started to shift. Leo wasn't sure where he should go to make sure he was comfortable, but after a long moment of minute movement the archer finally lifted his head.

“Can we uh… lay down?” He wasn't sure why he was so embarrassed asking the little request, maybe because laying down close to each other was much more intimate than sitting up, but he wanted to get comfortable and that position sounded very nice at the moment. His cheeks were tinted pink, but the other wasn't going to be a hypocrite and point it out with him being flushed too.

“Y-Yeah,” he cleared his throat, “that's okay.” It took a moment for them to get comfortable about each other, but soon they found themselves with Leo laying on his back with Takumi on his stomach resting partially on the couch and the blond’s chest.

Now the movie was lost to both to them since they were more focused on the position instead of the contents. Leo rested on hand on the small of his back, the other being held under his own head that was resting on the arm of the couch. He was able to stare down at Takumi and see part of his face, but he seemed to be hiding his expression out of embarrassment. He couldn't have that.

Leo moved the hand under his head to rest on top of Takumi’s, once again starting the gentle petting to play with his hair. The motion was the same as last time, but this time his fingers would occasionally catch against the ribbon keeping it all together. It would be so easy to curve his finger and catch it to pull it out and properly live the fantasy out. So tempting that he even asked. “May I?” The ribbon was given a light tug to show what he was referring to.

No verbal response came and instead there was a nod against his chest, giving Leo permission to adjust his fingers and give the red ribbon a pull. The ribbon came out easily and tossed onto the coffee table, thankfully landing on the tabletop instead of fluttering to the ground. Now with long rose dust colored locks cascading down Takumi's back, Leo started at the top of his head and trailed his fingers down. The strands glided down past his fingers nary a knot before he was at the end of his wingspan, lifting his fingers out his hair to start over again. Leo had no interest in the movie any more, instead finding more interest in watching his boyfriend as his breathing evened out.

The gentle petting was relaxing to Takumi and he wasn't aware that he was starting to drift off. With his stomach full of a late dinner, cuddled close to a warm boyfriend and having his hair played with was the perfect combination of ultimate comfort. The movie was nice, but sure didn't live up the version he remembered even though he hardly cared anymore. His amber eyes closed to blink, but they didn't open again. The hand in his hair continued to move only to start slowing down after some time, but it was hard to tell if the owner of the hand did so because he noticed the athlete was asleep or because he was dozing off as well.

~!~

The front door clicked open silently, not even creaking as it was pushed opened and closed a few seconds later. It was locked with a silent click and the man turned to start taking his shoes off. He wasn't sure what time it was, just that it was late and he needed to be quiet. The sneakers were pulled off, but not put against the wall just yet as he noted that a different pair where in his spot. They weren't new by any means seeing how warned and loved they looked, but they were new to him and that made him rather curious.

Niles places his shoes right next to the new pair, now looking up when a tune started to play on the television. It almost scared him, but not much did any more so he managed to keep his composure and remain silent. He silently made his way over to the living room to investigate.

He knew Odin would be out all night and it should be just Leo, but Leo never absently left the television on before going to bed which he should be since there was no way the blond even could stay up this late. He continued to make his way over, taking a peak over the couch and smirking at the image.

There Leo and Takumi was cuddled up on the couch with Takumi safely tucked under his chin. At some point in the night they shifted to lay on their sides, both of Leo’s arms wrapped loosely around his shoulders while the other’s were tucked in between their chests. Their legs were entangled and Takumi was softly snoring, even if it was muffled. He wasn't sure how his roommate was comfortable with part of the archer’s hair covering the blond’s face and ruining the image of perfect, intimate bliss, but Niles would dare try and touch them to move Takumi’s hair out of his friends face.

No way, that would risk waking them. The lovebirds needed their beauty sleep. Besides, waking them in the morning would be much more embarrassing for them and much more amusing for him.

Definitely a win win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so a couple of things lmao: 
> 
> 1\. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, for a TLDR: I got back into college, there were MANY complications with my application, and even though I applied back in August, I wasn't "accepted" accepted until like 2 weeks before classes started. The stress def didn't give me time to write oof 
> 
> 2\. I had everything planned out, but my writing motivation was at like -278227 points to golden deer
> 
> 3\. You know when I said this was the last chapter? Yea me neither. It was just getting too long so I broke it up c: the REAL last chapter shouldn't take as long at least maybe lmao


	12. Final Assignment: Graph 5-8, 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can use mathway/./com to show your work :)

Morning came with a hiss from the kitchen, but it wasn't enough to cause either of the two students on the couch to stir from their rest. It was one of the best sleeps they've ever gotten in their college life, but cuddling up against a warm lover and being held close tended to do that. As time passed the hissing from the kitchen mellowed out and was replaced with a smell which made Takumi start to shift about. It smelled absolutely delicious and he could easily tell it was bacon. A faint smile crossed his lips. His boyfriend was amazing, cooking him breakfast and holding him close at the same time. He couldn't be any luckier.

It didn't take long for him to realize that that was completely impossible as he started to wake up some more. He shifted in his spot, opening his eyes barely to see the blond’s peaceful face still in slumber. They must of moved in the middle of the night to be more face to face, but at least now his own hair wasn't smothering him- not like he knew it ever was to begin with. He would of loved to enjoy the look a little more, but there was still that wonder of what was going on in the kitchen.

He started to shift, but he was careful in his movements to not wake Leo. Whoever was in the kitchen lived here since he doubted an intruder would casually cook breakfast; he didn't think it was something to wake his boyfriend over. It was most likely one of his roommates, but the question was: Which one?

He gently pulled his arm away from where it was resting over Leo’s hip, putting his hand between them to slowly push himself to peak over the back of the couch. Whoever it was couldn't be seen from his current angle though leaving the mystery still unsolved. Takumi glanced back down at Leo, wondering now if he could get off the couch without waking him. That would involve moving over Leo though and he wasn't sure how well that could be done.

He tested to see how heavy of a sleeper he was by moving Leo’s hand off from where it slid to his waist when he moved to sit up, moving it closer to Leo and getting nothing but a deeper breath in reaction. That was good, but now he was starting to wonder if he was a heavy sleeper which would be an awfully cute trait of his love. The hand was pulled off his waist easily enough as he shifted his legs to get off the couch. It was done a lot easier than he anticipated, but at least he didn’t knock Leo off the couch which he was the most thankful for. Takumi found his hair ribbon on the coffee table and picked it up, pulling his hair in a low ponytail again to keep it out of his face.

Leo stayed peacefully asleep not looking bothered at all that his cuddle partner has left him. He kept his eyes on his face, suddenly feeling compelled to slowly move down to his knees right next to him. He knew his original mission was not wanting to wake him, but now he couldn’t help himself and reached forward to move a piece of hair off of his high cheek bone. All he got out of the action was another sigh. He should of looked when he was laying right next to him, but now at this new angle he could see that Leo had rather long eyelashes. His soft skin accidentally flitted against his knuckles when he pulled away, but he didn’t leave him alone to continue sleeping just yet.

Whoever was in the kitchen was now forgotten as he decided to act one a desire that came to him last night while they waited for dinner. Takumi shifted on his knees, leaning forward closer to his cheek to press a kiss against it.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

Takumi jumped away from where he was a few inches from Leo’s face with a sharp gasp of breath, looking up to find the smug grin of Niles who knew exactly what he interrupted. Takumi tried to save face by putting on a challenging frown, but the red blush he had dusting across his face took away the bite his look was suppose to have. Somehow through all that Leo still didn’t wake.

“Good; why don’t you help me with breakfast, hmm?” Niles asked at a normal volume, leaning his elbows on the couch with his head in his hands. How lucky of him to catch such an adorable blush on the other archer. Surly Leo won’t get jealous that he was missing out. Takumi didn’t say anything, just kept his pout as he looked over at Leo once again. “Don’t worry, he’s a heavy sleeper. Stop stalling and help.”

Takumi was still hesitant, mostly because he didn’t want to be so close with Niles, but this was something stupid to argue about. “Fine.” He finally huffed, moving to stand up from his spot. Maybe some other time he would get to kiss Leo, but today was not that day it seemed. He stepped around the couch to follow the other man into the kitchen, catching sight of the breakfast that looked mostly done. He wasn’t sure where he could really help minus setting the table.

Niles went back to cooking whatever it was he wanted for that morning as Takumi went searching the kitchen. It took a moment to find the right cabinet, but when he did he pulled out three plates before stopping a moment. “Is Odin here?” Takumi asked a bit stiffly, unsure how to be formal and casual in the presences of someone he wasn’t fond of -in said presences’ own home no less.

“Nah, it’s just the three of us,” Niles responded so normal it took a moment for Takumi to process it. Normally his words were always said with cunning pride like he knew more than he let on or a seductive purr. This toned down Niles was something different to him, “well, two if Leo is awake enough to eat.” Niles would still tell him to have something in his stomach before going to the classes he didn’t miss.

“Okay.” The stiff undertone started to slowly leave his voice as he began to relax. He didn’t think Niles would pull something here, but he was unpredictable at best. The plates were set in front of the chairs and soon followed by silverware. It was an easy task and now Takumi wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Sitting the table was hardly any real help when it was that easy. Niles seemed to ignore his internal struggle which was okay with him. His gaze shifted from Niles to what he was making. Simple bacon and eggs, shouldn’t be tampered with if he and Leo were going to eat them too. If he was going to come over again he should really trust Niles a little more than that, but it would take time.

A hum came from Niles to signal he was starting to talk, making Takumi look up from the food at the white haired man. “What did you guys have for dinner?” He realized some eggs were missing and he was curious, but not about the eggs. He was curious of something else.

“We made some chicken parm.” Takumi has turned from stiff to maybe too formal, but at least in his eyes it was an improvement.

“And you didn’t leave me some leftovers? Shameful.” He was so disappointed his late night snack was ruined since he didn’t have any delicious leftovers to heat up. Sure there was easier things to snack on that he did settle on that wouldn’t involve using the microwave, but he was still disappointed. His pan was pulled off the heat of the stove as he looked over at Takumi, small signature smirk back again. “Try to remember next time you two have a another date night.” It was punctuated with a wink.

“I-” Takumi stuttered, not sure how to handle the teasing since he had let his guard down. His blush was back as he dipped his head, muttering out. “No promises.” He wasn’t going to make Leo make more just for him, but maybe that was twisted thinking.

“That’s so rude, and to think I just made you breakfast. Maybe I should save your portion for Odin.” That vacuum would eat anything, even microwaved scrambled eggs.

Takumi huffed. “You don’t have to make me anything.” It’s not like he asked for this.

“And leave a guest starving? Leo would shun me and seeing him frown just breaks my heart. Besides, you’re being unreasonably hostile over something so small.” He purred out, looking over with a fun little grin.

Maybe he was getting a little testy, but Niles just did that to him. He kept his frown, but since he found himself caught in a corner he saw no other option but to agree. “Fine.”

“Wonderful, now finish setting the table.”

Once again Takumi did as told but this time without hesitation. It was easy enough that he didn’t care when Niles left him to do it alone. He didn’t watch to see what he was doing as he finished setting everything. Whatever he went to do was quickly discovered as he entered the kitchen again with a sleepy Leo. The blond was mumbling something, but all he got in response was a hush and how he made them all a delicious breakfast, so he shouldn’t put all his hard work to waste. Takumi sat down in one of the spots, wondering if he was in some designated place and he needed to move. If he was he wasn’t asked though as Niles plopped the tired tutor right next to him.

“He’s not a morning person; I hope you’ll get use to that.” Niles ruffled Leo’s hair as he went to sit in his own spot, ready to eat the meal he worked so hard to make. Takumi poked at the food for a moment before finally eating, surprised by the taste. It was actually good- he hardly imagined Niles to be any sort of cook. The proud smirk that the dark skin man wore was ignored as Leo started to lean in his seat. It was controlled so at last there was no worry about him falling and hurting himself. Instead of eating for now Leo opted to lay his head on Takumi’s shoulder. It wasn’t as comfortable of a pillow as the couch, but he didn’t seem to mind for now.

Takumi didn’t mind either in a sense, but doing any display of affection right in front of someone still made him shift in embarrassment. He decided it was his turn to try and wake him up. “C’mon Leo, you need to eat. And I need to go back to my dorm before classes.” Depending on how late it was he might not go to his classes, but he still needed a change of clothes and his medicine.

“Wake up sleeping beauty.” Niles teased, turning his fork around in his hand to poke at Leo’s nose with the rounded end. The blond scrunches his nose at the touch, lifting his head from his boyfriend’s shoulder and mumbling some sleepy nonsense again. He finally picked up his own fork to start eating, but he still was still absent minded. “He’ll wake up more in a bit.” Niles waved off no doubt use to how Leo was in the mornings. Takumi sure hoped so since he didn’t want Leo drunk on sleep driving him back.

Leo did wake up more in the sense that he wasn’t eating as slowly anymore, but his eyes were still droopy. The other two finished their meal before Leo and Niles stood to do the dishes, not telling the guest to help and instead stay next to Leo to make sure he didn’t choke. Takumi didn’t think it would happen, but that was a better thing to do than dishes. Thankfully nothing disastrous happened as Leo finished his plate and almost right away it was picked up by Niles to start cleaning too. Now Niles gave him instructions, this one being to go and make Leo wash his face to wake up. The blond gave a wide yawn as the instructions not given to him registered in his mind, but sleep still filled his voice as he mumbled how he was on it. Takumi still got up too since he didn’t want to stay in the kitchen with Niles. Leo must of had the same idea of not wanting to leave Takumi alone as he lightly grabbed his hand to walk together to the bathroom. This time the athlete wasn’t as embarrassed by the affection- maybe because Niles wasn’t looking, maybe because it was smaller; it was hard to tell.

Seeing new parts of the apartment Takumi looked around as he was guided to what he assumed was Leo’s bedroom. It looked huge, but in reality he realized it was probably normal sized, just huge in comparison to his dorm. It was very neat, but there was not as much personality in it as he thought it would have in the sense of decoration. Takumi only barely caught sight of the golf trip photo strip before he was brought into the bathroom. His grin at that detail was too faint to see by tired brown eyes.

In the bathroom Takumi wasn’t too sure what to do since Leo was hardly enunciating his words enough to hold a proper conversation. He decided to put down the toilet lid to sit on there to wait as Leo washed his face. He couldn’t believe he slept with his phone in his pocket and how it still had some battery left, but he counted it as a blessing and gave it a quick check to see the time. He was missing his first class and would no doubt show up in the middle of his second if Leo woke up right away and got him back to his dorm. It was important to go to every class with midterms coming up, but he found no need to rush the sleepyhead.

The water dripped down Leo’s face from where he brought it up from the sink and it was Takumi who handed him a towel. Leo wiped his face, looking over at his boyfriend to offer a lazy smile.”Good morning.”

“Morning.” Takumi couldn’t help himself and return the smile with one of his own. “Waking up now?” He sure sounded like he was more alert at the least.

“Yeah.” Leo said in a content sigh, ending it in a smaller yawn as he put the washrag back over the rack. With his hands free he held them out to Takumi who took them without hesitation. With his help he stood up from his seat, smile only growing when he was pulled into a good morning hug. It was a hug that Takumi could easily relax into. “I can’t believe we fell asleep during the movie.” Even if he didn’t care what he was watching, he never drifted off much less fall into a deep slumber like that. “Was it more boring than you remembered?”

Takumi laughed at his little joked as the hug came to an end. “No it was okay; not as good as I remembered though.” He used to adore that movie when he was young. Now he wondered what he saw in it to consider it a masterpiece. “I would ask if you slept well, but I think I already know the answer to that.”

Leo’s smile remained, but he did look a little sheepish at that jab. “Sorry; I’m really not a morning person.” But he made his schedule to fit a morning routine to try and break the habit. It worked when he had an alarm to wake up to, but if he didn’t have to set one he could sleep in for hours.

“It’s okay.” The other easily dismissed since he was able to learn about another cute trait his boyfriend had. “I think we missed our first class though.” But it didn’t bother him that much, even though he could imagine it miffed Leo.

“Right.” He nodded, patting his pocket for his phone to check the time only to find them empty. It was probably somewhere in the living room still, but all it meant to him was that he was going to go phone-less for the day. That was fine, hopefully. “I’ll drive you back to your dorm, let me get ready real quick.” He couldn’t believe he missed class- there goes his perfect attendance for bonus points at the end of the semester. He would still get some, just one less now. “Wait in the living room and I’ll come out when I’m ready.” He spoke as he walked out of the bathroom, Takumi trailing behind so he could do as told. There was no need to stay in the room and watch him change and get ready- they weren’t at that stage in their relationship yet. And hiding in the bathroom was just weird.

At the door to the bedroom Takumi stepped out, but his attention was caught when Leo gently took his wrist to catch his attention. “I’ll be quick I promise.” He said, leaning forward to press a light kiss on the crown if his head. Before even seeing how Takumi reacted the door was closed leaving them in two separate rooms.

Even though it wasn’t his cheeks that received the affection, he brought his hands up to hold his face as a blush started to form. It was hardly anything worth of substance, but it was still a kiss and technically the first kiss they shared, even if it was only on his head. He dropped one of his hands, the other going up to rest over the spot that got the kiss before he realized he was still standing in front of the door. His hands fell as he turned around, ready for the usual teasing for Niles before realizing he wasn’t around. He wasn’t sure where he was, but he wasn’t about to find out.

Takumi made his way to the couch to sit, having another realization that he was overreacting to something that was really small. It wasn’t even his first kiss, sure dating was never a priority for him, but he still had a few relationships scattered about. He could find some sappy reason how Leo was  _ different  _ or something of the sort, but all that mattered is how it did fluster him.

It took a moment for Leo to actually start getting dressed for the day; the late start being for a pause as he stared at his wall blankly as he realized he just did that. Everything beforehand he asked to do -since they got in the relationship, he dropped his sneaky habits- and that kiss he just… did. It felt natural and he wanted to do it again, but he couldn’t postpone getting dressed for the day any longer. He was already late in his morning schedule as is, no need to bring Takumi down with him in that tardy hell just because he wanted to smooch a little more. His own flushed was willed away as he finished getting dressed and ready, ending his rushed morning routine by making sure his headband fit neatly atop his head.

The door was pushed open and it didn’t take long for him to find Takumi sitting on his couch, doing something on his own phone that Leo didn’t feel like he needed to know. Whatever it was, it was quickly finished up as the archer stood and pocketed the device. “Are you ready?” Leo asked.

“Yeah, ready if you are.” Takumi wondered if there would be another kiss pressed somewhere against him, but none came as Leo simply smiled and nodded his head.

Together they left the apartment, the door locked behind them as they started to make their way down the stairs. The car’s headlights blinked as it was unlocked with a click of a button. The passenger door was opened for Takumi who stepped in with a kind thanks. The car ride over was filled with light conversation of the classes each were missing. The kiss was never brought up. Leo couldn’t believe they took this long to figure out each other’s schedule, they could probably figure out some times to meet each other in between classes, but now with midterms coming up time was stretched thin.

The car was parked in the dorm parking lot, both getting out and Leo getting denied the chance to open the door for him once again. He couldn’t be a gentleman all the time less his headband magically turns into a fedora. Gross. It was already discussed how they would walk to class together until they had to part ways. Talk continued as Leo followed his boyfriend to his dorm, staying on mundane things before being brought to an end once Takumi slipped into his dorm room with Leo happily saying he would patiently wait outside.

With the dorm only to himself he started to get dressed, first changing clothes before fixing up his hair. He couldn’t believe how tangled it got just from being played with, but with hair this long having some days a more tangled mess than others meant he was use to this sort of thing by now.

Even though he was dressed ready for society there was one thing left that he needed to do. He went to his desk, kneeling down to open the bottom drawer to pull out a bottle. The prescription information stared back at him, remaining him what it was and how to take it.

It also reminded him how it was something that he really should tell Leo about.

Takumi looked up to stare at the door, knowing Leo was out there and not questioning how long he was taking. Hopefully not doing so at least since he didn’t want to get startled by a knock at the door when he had a needle in his arm.

Amber gaze shifted back to the bottle as he placed it back on the desk to prepare this morning’s dosage. Later, he’ll tell him later. Now wasn’t a good time- too random; there was no context to sudden dump of information he would have to drop on Leo.

~!~

“You know you don’t have to do this, right?”

“Please, I want to. It’s okay, really.”

Takumi pursed his lips, still hesitant about all this since he really didn’t need to do that. “They already like you. You don’t need to prove anything.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything.” Leo said with a shake of his head and kind smile. He knew Takumi’s friends liked him, even if he hadn’t met Oboro in person yet, but offering to drive the four of them to dinner as a double date would definitely make them like him more. He was being honest saying that wasn’t the goal, but it was a nice bonus.

Hinata was the one who suggested they do something on the night before the start of the tests and the plans slowly started to form from there. It mostly started out as thing for the three of them, but now with Leo in the friend group it was logical to include him too. The three of them were talking in the boy’s dorms when Hinata suddenly told Takumi to bring Leo along. Ever since their relationship formed, the brown haired man formed a friendship with the blond. Every day before their English class started they would talk a bit before going to their unassigned assigned seat. It's where Leo learned of Oboro, and after Hinata told Takumi to video call instead of text Leo got to put a face to the name too.

“I'm about to start driving, I'll see you soon.”

A soft sigh left Takumi, knowing that that was the end of that. He returned the goodbye with one of his own before hanging up the phone. Somehow during the planning of this double date Leo spoke up on how he was willing to drive them to dinner and of course Oboro and Hinata weren't going to pass up a free ride. Being outnumbered, Takumi had to agree to the idea too. “He's on his way.”

Hinata looked up from messing with his hair to make sure it was secure in its half bun knot. “Ah, Okay, I'll go pick up Oboro.” Thankfully her dorm wasn't too far away even if it was in a different building so he should be back on time. “Be right back.” With that he quickly moved away, hair already falling out of its tie since he was too excited to do it correctly. He was always excited about dates with Oboro, even if this time they wouldn’t be completely alone.

Takumi hummed in response as he waved him off and soon he was left alone. He had to admit he was pretty excited about this outing himself. They haven't done anything like this yet in their relationship and it was one of those first he was ready to cover. Sure it wasn't really a date since his friends were tagging along, but it was close enough. He wouldn't say it out loud since it was a secret, but there was another first he wanted to cover tonight.

With another sigh he flopped back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling as he waited for the minutes to tick by. He still couldn’t believe he was going on an actual date with an actual boyfriend, but maybe it shouldn’t be so shocking to him anymore a month into this relationship. Technically, it wasn’t even their first date. He tried to spare a glance over at the picture from the golf course, but it was too hard at his current angle so he sat up.

In the end just sitting up wasn’t good enough. Takumi got up from his bed and started to make his way over to to pick up the strip. Now knowing the context of Leo’s look made him feel a little bashful, but that wasn’t the thing he was focusing on right now. He remembered that they made a deal that loser had to do whatever the winner want and now Takumi knew what he wanted. He wondered if Leo remembered that little deal they had going on too, but even if he didn’t there was no doubt that Leo would be okay with his idea. Part of him wondered if he shouldn’t waste his bargain over something that small, but for some reason it felt better to have a reason to ask for that instead of being straight forward. It was still the unfamiliarity of it all that made him feel the need to have excuses. Set on his goal the picture was placed back down as fixed a few things about his appearance. He moved his arms up to tighten the ribbon holding his hair together since it became ruffled once he laid down.

There was only a short wait he had to sit through before there was a text from Leo that he was in the parking lot. He couldn’t help but smile down at his phone at it and sent back a message saying he’d be down there soon. He left the dorm, heading towards the stairs as he sent a quick text to Hinata that their ride was here. The phone was pocketed as he made his way down to the parking lot. It didn’t take long or him to find Leo and he made his way over to him.

“You look nice.” Leo said with his signature easy grin once he was close enough.

Takumi shifted his shoulders in slight embarrassment, touching the zipper of his jacket between two fingers and looking over it. “I’m not dressed any different.” Sure he put on a nicer shirt and pair of jeans on than his usual comfortable clothing, but the top portion of his attire was still covered by his usual Letterman jacket.

“Mm I suppose so, but you always look nice.” He was always looking for a chance to compliment his boyfriend and now was no different. He wasn’t lying either- he was looking just as handsome as ever. 

“You’re embarrassing.”

“All part of my charm.”

Said with that smile Takumi wasn’t left with much room to argue- not like he really wanted to.

Not too long later Hinata was walking over to them with Oboro on his arm. He fixed his hair to be back in his usual style, but there was no doubt that she helped them with that. When they were close enough they shared a greeting with the two other students and Leo was able to get a proper in person introduction to Oboro. Her look over was subtle, but she approved of what she saw. She cared for Takumi greatly and wanted the best for him, Leo didn’t look like the type that would give him the worse. But she may be biased as she was getting a free ride. He got her approval for now, but seeing how he was on the date would really tell her if he was a great match for her friend.

~!~

The car was pulled into a parking spot and the breaks were locked to stay in place. Conversation reached a lull as each of the four members got out, the car remaining unlocked as Leo pocketed his keys.

“Thanks again for the ride, Leo.” Oboro spoke up, linking her arm with Hinata who happily added his own note of gratitude.

“Of course, it was a lot of fun. Thank you for inviting me.” It still filled Leo with a fluffy feeling that he was included in this double date. He would have never thought of it on his own- he’s been too busy preparing for the tests too to even think of date between him and his boyfriend. Takumi’s friends did him a favor in return without them really knowing.

The other couple parted from them with one last comment from Hinata how he’ll see him in English tomorrow and good luck on the essay they would be turning in as their midterm. He was walking Oboro back to her own dorm, a path that the two left behind were not meant to follow. That was fine though, they had their own path to take. Or at least, the one they were suppose to take.

Takumi turned back to Leo after waving off his friends, knowing what he wanted to do, but suddenly wondering how he should execute it. It was something so simple, yet he seemed to be struggling. He knew this was something he should ask to do, but doing so was embarrassing and he was wondering if he would even do it right. It wasn’t like this would be his first kiss ever but it was definitely the first in a while.

Leo was slowly becoming an expert on the body language of Takumi to know that something was one his mind, but then again it was an easy subject to learn since he was an open book. “Did you have fun?” Leo started out instead instead of coming out right to ask what was wrong. He felt it was a good place to start, even though he thought knew the answer already.

From where he was looking down Takumi glanced up, fixing his expression after a blink into a faint smile. “I had lots of fun.” The food was good, he had a great time with his friends and for the hour or so they were gone the stress of midterms was off his shoulders. Sure it felt more like a friendly outing than a proper date, but if he built up the confidence to do this he should be able to change that tone into something more fitting.  

That made Leo feel better, but it didn’t give him much to go off of in finding out the problem since he felt he was telling the truth. Leo hummed his agreement to postpone any silence, but it eventually came leaving both of them to stand in the night with only the buzz of a cricket in the background. It didn’t take long for Leo to realize he had to give up- there wasn’t much time left in the night and he needed to get some last minute study in before his tests tomorrow. It was something the both of them should do really and somewhere in the back of Takumi’s mind he knew it too.

“I should get going-”

“Wait.” Takumi reached to grab his arm before he even had the chance to start walking back towards his car. He kept his head down, holding Leo’s arm gently yet firmly between his hands. The sudden movement did startle Leo a minute, but he relaxed as he stayed put. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice.

“What is it?” Leo asked, trying to shift his arm so he was at least holding his hand and not having a lock on his wrist. He figured it would be more calming and hopefully got him to look up again.

The message came across as the archer dropped one of his arms, the other sliding down to hold his hand like he was silently asked, but he still didn’t look up. Takumi took a breath. He knew what he wanted, he had his reason, and he had his excuse; now he just needed to do it. Another breath was needed before he finally was able to speak. “You know at the golf course we made that deal thing?”

Leo nodded, but he doubted it was seen so he spoke. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous, but he knew a foolproof way to fix that. “I sure do partner.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Takumi quickly looked up once that horrid accent was back, but all he was met with was a kind smile followed by a chuckle and knowing he did that on purpose to make him meet his gaze. Even with how much he seemed against it, he still couldn’t help but upturn his lips in a faint grin to go with his growing blush.

Having the chance to keep his head up Leo reached forward to take his chin in between his fingers. “Do you have something in mind now?” He had a lot of time to think about it; he couldn’t help being curious over what it might be.

Takumi kept his head tilted up towards Leo, but that didn’t stop him from still looking off to the side as his blush grew. Things should be easier for him in this position, but he needed to get a little closer so he could push himself up on his toes. He thought about his options, such as explaining what he wanted or just doing it, but in the end he decided to go for a different option. “Close your eyes.”

Brown eyes sent a curious look down at Takumi, but he ended up doing as asked. He even dropped his hand from his chin to give him the freedom of movement, even though there was still a shared grip on their hands. Even with his head free the archer kept his head tilted upwards towards Leo as he took a step closer. Now there was no time to hesitate uness Leo starts to question what he was doing so he needed to move quick. Takumi pushed himself up on his toes, tilting his head so he could press his lips against his, but he ended up being too hasty and bumped their noses together.

A small noise of surprise left Leo he moved back, free hand going to cover his mouth and nose as he opened his eyes to look at him. The bump didn't hurt so he pulled his hand away a moment later, but he did have a curious look on his face and a confused smile. “What was that for?” It would be rather quirky and unexpected of Takumi to do a nose boop as his winning command. But soon after Leo’s smile faltered as he realized it was now Takumi hiding his face not from boop protection, but in complete embarrassment and humiliation. Something came from behind those hands, but he was not able to hear what it was and had to ask for a repeat.

“I was trying to kiss you, stupid!” Takumi exclaimed in his flustered state, pulling his hands away to speak before hiding again.

“Oh.” That made a lot more sense than a poke. Now it was his turn for his cheeks to flush a soft shade of pink. He wished he didn’t have him close his eyes for something like that, but he could see the embarrassment and not wanting to be watched. That wasn’t important right now though, what was is that he needed to get his boyfriend to stop hiding. Leo reached forward to take his wrists in between his fingers, slowly trying to pry them away so he could see him once again. He thought of saying something to him, something to ease him and that it was okay that he messed up. He could also say something sappy how he’s been wanting to kiss him too for a while, but that would just prolong things longer than either of them needed or had the time for.

The blond leaned forward, tilting his head and pressing a soft kiss against Takumi’s lips. He brought both of their hands down from where they hung around Takumi’s head to hang between them. The kiss only lasted a second longer before Leo pulled back, offering a small smile to his boyfriend even if his own blush has grown. “You can just ask to do that.” No tricks or excuses. If it was appropriate, he could kiss him whenever he wanted. He thought there was no more room on Takumi’s face to be painted red, but it slowly started to creep down his neck in a slow yet amusing race to watch.

“G-Got it.” He murmured, ducking his head once again for a moment to recover. He didn’t keep his head down for long as he shyly looked up. “So… can…?”

Another faint nod came from Leo, deciding this time he would stay in spot to let Takumi take the lead and lean forward for the kiss he wanted. Leo almost thought he wouldn’t be able to do so, but subtly and tentatively the archer leaned forward once again to press a soft kiss against Leo. This one lasted longer than the first even though there was less pressure, but too happy for actually getting another kiss from his boyfriend made him not mind at all. When Leo pulled back, he couldn’t smile once more as he looked for a matching one, but Takumi had his lips in a thin nervous line. He couldn’t have that. Thinking quick Leo leaned forward, pressing a quick peck against the corner of his lips in order get him to smile. If he was lucky, maybe it would allow him to see that dimple again.

“Hey.” Takumi huffed, but it ended up working as a faint smile crossed his lips. No dimple this time, but that was okay.

“We just had our first kiss, don’t you think that’s something to smile about?” Leo asked with a small tilt of his head.

Another huff left the other, but this time it was in the form of a small laugh at himself. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize about.” It was silly too anyway. “I like seeing your smile.”

Takumi turned his head away again, but this time he was keeping his smile. “You’ve been so embarrassing today.” There were many moments where he was showing off his charm as he called it earlier.

“I’m on a roll.” Leo purred.

“Stop.” The demand was drawn out in a laugh as he pushed him away since that accent was back again. He wasn’t even that good at it, but he still preferred his normal noive and would like to listen to that instead. Leo ended up joining in on the chuckle, but the moment couldn’t last long. Sadly their time would have to come to an end as Leo did need to get home. One last hug was shared in between them as they wished each other luck on their tests. The couple parted ways and as Leo watched Takumi walk back into the dorm building from the seat of his car the only thing on his mind during the whole ride home was hoping that their tutoring paid off.

~!~

The rift of nails tapping against a table filled the small alcove of the library Leo and Takumi called their own. Midterms were finally over and now results were slowly coming in. He’s already gotten the tests back from two of his classes now and was waiting on the others, but right now his own grades weren’t his priority. He knew he did okay, sure some classes better than others, but still he couldn’t care to think about himself at the moment.

Takumi managed to get his grade for his physics exam yesterday and texted Leo about it when they were back in their respective homes. Leo wasn’t sure why he didn’t tell him when they were in school when they met up after the archer’s physics class, but it lead Leo to think the worse. Maybe he failed and didn’t want him to be disappointed in him- like that could ever happen. If anything he would be disappointed in himself for not being a good enough tutor for his boyfriend. If he couldn’t teach him, could he teach anybody? Those thoughts sent him into a spiral of self doubt that he managed to stop before getting in too far.

At least he would finally find out the big deal today after waiting for what felt like an eternity. His fingers picked up the pace as the rhythm grew faster, growing more anxious as time passed enen though his face still kept the image of calm boredom- not like anyone would be able to see in their little hiding spot. They might be able to hear his quicker tapping though so he put that to a stop by resting his hands in his lap.

Leo looked up when he heard footsteps approaching, still managing to act calm since in case it was bad news he didn’t want to work up Takumi even more. The archer rounded the corner, test in hand with his head down and in a slap of deja vu Leo’s heart sank. Now Leo stood from his seat, unable to wait for the news of failure to come and opting to start comforting him already. Although in a relationship, he still wasn’t sure how to properly sooth Takumi. The last time this happened Takumi was sarcastic and spiteful in anger, seeming distant and uncaring and he wasn’t sure if pulling him into hug was a good idea. The thoughts where in his mind, but his body still acted on instinct to reach out to him.

“Takumi I’m-”

He was an inch away from touching his arms when Takumi looked up, sly smirk dancing in his eyes and spreading across his lips as he knew exactly what he was doing and exactly what he succeeded in. Leo ended up cutting himself off at that look, face blanking as Takumi swiftly moved his hands upwards. The test stayed in between his thumb and index finger as he cupped his cheeks in his palms, bringing Leo’s head down to his level and pushing himself up on his toes to press a firm kiss against his lips.

Leo’s hands stayed floating next to his forearms as he realized what was happening, the kiss already being ruined as Takumi couldn’t keep his smile contained. He couldn’t believe he was missing that dimple in exchange for a kiss, but it was a trade he was willing to make as he rested his hands on his hips, own smile breaking the kiss even more to where their lips weren’t even touching anymore.

Not long after Takumi pulled back, far enough to push the test in his hands into Leo’s face. “I passed!”

Leo had to pull his head back at that, the paper being pushed too close for him to see the grade in Takumi’s excitement, but it wasn’t enough to make his smile fade. He pulled his hands away to take hold of the test, putting it at a normal distance from his face to see the “91” staring back at a lot more brighter than the last number- but then again the “great work!” message underneath made a lot of things look better. 

He didn’t bother flipping through the packet to see what few questions he got wrong, instead looking over at Takumi to see him all smile with the dimple he missed from before. Once again Leo reached out to him, Takumi quickly moving closer to be held in the one armed hug. The blond tilted his head over, pressing another kiss on the crown of his head before speaking up.

“I’m so proud of you.”

Takumi shifted to lay his head against him to do his best to hide his blush, He didn’t want to admit how much those simple words affected him. Many people were proud of him sure, but hearing it from Leo made him feel flushed. “T-thank you.” 

“Well, are you ready to study for finals?”

Takumi then lifted his head, showing off his lingering blush along with his frown. “Can’t we take a break to celebrate?” He couldn’t handle any more physics right now.

Leo simply chuckled, setting the paper down on the table to properly hug his boyfriend once more. He hummed in thought, missing how Takumi’s frown turned more into a pout since he was missing how Leo was getting him back for pulling that little stunt on him beforehand. “Oh, I don’t know. You had me worried thinking you failed so I think it’s a good idea to go over what you missed. 

A drawn out sigh in annoyance left Takumi. “Okay I’m sorry; can we take a break now?”

That pout could sway him way too easily.

“Alright, we can take a break. You deserve it.” 

Takumi picked up the test again to put in his back, pout gone in an instant since he didn’t have to study anymore. “All thanks to you teach.” Really now, he couldn’t ask for a better tutor. He was passing his class with a “C” and he was truly understanding the subject now. Not only that, he got a boyfriend out of it which ended up being the best thing he could ever score. Speaking of which, he should get some affection for this “A,” more than he has already gotten.

He’ll remember once he brings him back to his dorm later tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O LAWD ITS OVER FINALLY 
> 
> Writers Block got my hoe ass BAD in this last chapter, but I decided to delete the scene i was struggling with for a month or so now and move one with it, hope ya dont mind.
> 
> Now that this fic is over, I'm going to start going back and updating it to fix grammar/spelling issues, some issues where it was hard to tell who was doing what, and also maybe some character issues. I know I was going to have Takumi and Leo be OOC from their canon personalities, but I feel like I've strayed a little bit from the version of them I had going in my head. That leads into my next thing tho that some story elements of this fic will change! I will NOT be deleting any scene, but i will probably be elaborating on things i feel like i skimmed too much over and i might add a few scenes, but i cant promise that i will or not. There will be a part 2 one shot to pick up on a certain cliffhanger, but it will be rated E cause im horny on main (sorry)
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented, gave kudos, bookmarked, etc this work when it was in progress and in the future! its my biggest completed fic to date and I learned a lot from it like how i should write everything out before posting, but ya live and ya learn lol 
> 
> also please enjoy my witty titles i googled so many math equation puns for them and i hated it


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